Hot Gimmick
by Mei Queen
Summary: Ginny makes a deal with Draco when he stumbles upon her doing something she shouldn't.
1. The Deal

**Hot Gimmick**

-_Mei Queen_

Author's Note- This is a Draco/Ginny story based on the manga "Hot Gimmick" by Miki Aihara. Though Neville will be slightly OoC, please note that he isn't evil. He's just upset about something that happened with his parents. Please don't be upset if some of the characters are slightly OoC…Draco and Ginny were really the ones I was trying to capture by using this story because I thought it fit how they might've gotten together pretty well, so some of the supporting cast might appear slightly…well, slightly mad. Sorry about that. Hope you'll read and review anyway.

Chapter 1: The Deal

There is no feeling quite like that of mixed regret and lunacy, that much Alice Longbottom will be able to tell you. As she lay in her bed next to her husband, incapacitated, in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, she had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to regret. Plenty of time to delve further into the depths of madness than she had the day before. The Longbottom's son, Neville, was visiting today. He had been sitting patiently by his mother's side, head in his hands, for the better part of an hour. It was the only way he could feel close to his parents, whose sanity had been taken by cruel Death Eaters during the war.

Neville had tried talking to his parents when he first visited them. Long he had hoped for a response, something clear, defined…logical. As of late, he had given up that hope. Today he came prepared. Neville had brought a photo album of his parents in their glory days, hoping that just perhaps, he might get a reaction from one of them.

Turning a careworn page, he was faced with the group of the Order of the Phoenix. He smiled at all the carefree faces in the wizard picture, waving at his parents, Harry's, and Ron's. This picture was acting oddly though. It seemed that the closer he looked at Arthur Weasley, the further the man backed out of the picture, until he was no longer a member of the Order's photo. _Something is going on,_ Neville thought curiously, prying the picture from its place in the album. Another, a smaller, photograph fell from underneath it. It landed on the ground, backside facing up. In his mother's perfect cursive, it was labeled _Christmas Party, 1975._ The image that faced Neville when he turned it over was enough to make him feel ill. There, underneath the mistletoe, was his mother. She was kissing Arthur Weasley.

"You need me to _what?_" a petite redhead sixth year whispered hysterically as her brother, a seventh year, talked quietly with her in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Please, sis. It will look a lot less odd if you're looking it up. Besides, you're way better at potions, you know that there is just no way that I could brew that? I don't want to risk hurting her…or 'it'," Ron said softly, his eyes looking dangerously glassy.

"Ron, you don't even know if there is an 'it' yet…but yes, I'll help you. Oh Merlin, Ronald…if this turns out positive…" Ginny trailed off, her long hair falling in her face.

"Mum will kill me," Ron finished with a blunt and dejected tone.

Ginny nodded but whispered softly, touching her brother's arm, "Don't worry. Everything will be okay. I promise."

_How do I get roped into these things? _Ginny thought to herself idly, twirling one of her curly scarlet locks as she trudged in the direction of the library. _I mean, really? And…Ron and Luna? When in the world did that one happen? That's just bloody bizarre…_

Ginny was so lost in her thoughts that she actually missed the entrance to the library and had to backtrack. Entering the dusty room, she saw that it was fairly deserted. _Just as well, _Ginevra thought miserably. _I really don't want anyone catching me doing what I'm about to do._

Taking a spare piece of parchment and a quill out of her robes, she headed towards the Health section. Taking down one of the mustier volumes that looked as if it hadn't been used recently, she lugged it to a chair and spread it out in front of her.

Flipping towards the index, she muttered to herself, "Postpartum depression…Posture…ah, jackpot! Pregnancy, pages 55-60."

Turning to page 55, she was faced with a whole page of pregnancy symptoms and how to prepare for your pregnancy. _That's not what I want, _Ginny thought irritably, turning the page again. Then she found it. _The 99.9 Accurate 'Are You Carrying?' Potion, _read Ginny.

She began to hurriedly copy down the ingredients and instructions, taking quick glances around her to make sure that nobody was watching. _Done! _Ginny thought excitedly, closing the book and heaving it back onto its spot on the shelf. She made it out the door and into the hallway when she tripped on something. Looking up from her spot on the ground, she realized she had tripped on a someone, not a something.

Draco Malfoy had been standing with his foot out in order to trip the next unlucky person to leave the library, which, as it happened, was her.

The handsome, devilish blonde boy looked down at her with an interesting mixture of disgust and interest; as if he wasn't really sure which emotion should be dominant at the moment. "What do you know," he said softly. "I bait a trap to catch a student, and instead I catch a weasel."

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," Ginny spat, trying to stand up and regain her bearings. Reaching into her pocket to feel for the important piece of parchment, she realized it was no longer there. Panicked, she looked on the ground at her feet. Sure enough, it had fallen out of her pockets when she fell to the ground. Draco caught sight of where her eyes were looking, and his Seeker reflexes were much better than that of her Keeper ones.

Swooping down quickly, Draco grabbed the parchment and unfolded it.

_Thank Merlin I didn't title it, _Ginny thought desperately.

"This is a pregnancy test potion." Draco said quickly.

_Well there goes my last bit of sanity, _Ginny thought savagely. _How is it that he knows everything, anyway?_

Draco snorted at her with derision. "I don't know everything, if that's what you're thinking. Pregnancy tests have very specific ingredients. Very few potions avoid ingredients like the pregnancy ones…you wouldn't want to harm a fetus after all, would you, Red?"

Ginny sighed and looked at the ground. "Please…just give it back, Malfoy. I haven't done anything to you."

"That's true," Draco said, weighing his options carefully. "But I think the operative thing to remember here is that I haven't done anything to you…yet. Therefore making this particular piece of information a blackmail that I can't yet let go of."

Her eyes bulged at his mention of blackmail, as she crossed her hands over her chest in irritation. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco thought carefully, all the while taking in Ginny's physique. She was wearing robes that looked as if perhaps they had belonged to her brothers at one point in time, as they were far too large. However, since they weren't actually in classes today, the robes were open, revealing Muggle clothes tightly covering an athletic physique. Her Quidditch practice had given her quite the body, indeed…too bad that her body was constantly unrecognizable under those robes. Draco sighed. "Well, I figured that much would be obvious. For some twisted and altogether ironic reason, I think what I want…is you. You can be my slave for the next month, and I won't tell the rest of the school that you're a slut with a bun in the oven."

Ginny opened her mouth to defend herself, but soon realized that pinning the pregnancy to Luna wouldn't help anything. "Slave? What do you mean? Do you want me to clean your room or something?"

The corners of Draco's mouth turned up in a wry smile. "No, my dear. I meant my sex slave…after all; you seem to enjoy it so much."

Ginny's eyes bulged at his audacity. "Forget it. Tell everyone. See if I care."

Turning to leave, she heard Draco clear his throat behind her. "Oh, Red…you remember my father, correct? Head of the Board of Trustees? Imagine what he could do if he found out that Hogwarts' morals are just slipping down the drain…expulsion? No…he's much crueler than that. Imagine a letter to your Mummy Dearest explaining that her own flesh and blood is about have one of their own. Mmm…I'd love to pen that letter. Maybe if I'm good, Daddy will even let me dictate it."

Ginny's eyes watered as she stopped. _I can't believe I'm lowering myself to this…this wanker! But what choice do I have?_ Turning around and looking miserably up at Draco, she asked quietly, "What alternative do I have?"

He stepped slyly down from his perch in the window ledge and circled her slowly. "Not a whole lot. Besides, Red…just think of the fun that you actually could have with me…that is, if you let yourself."

"You're evil, Malfoy. Sadistic, even. But I don't really have much of an option here…so I guess it's a yes. Not a happy one, but it's a yes," she said eventually, head held high, determined not to look him in the eye.

"Perfect. I'll meet you in the dungeons at seven, then…does that work for you? Seven?" he asked softly.

"Seven's just dandy," she retorted sarcastically, keeping her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

Draco leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly, "Oh, and wear something nice. That is…if you own anything nice."

With a final snort of derision, he tossed her parchment onto the ground in front of her and walked off towards the dungeons.

Picking the paper up, she backed up against the wall and sank to the floor. A tear rolled down her cheek as she checked her watch. Four-thirty. _What am I going to do? _Ginny thought miserably.

Ginny quickly and secretly whipped up Luna's potion down in the Potions classroom. Stirring the potion carefully, she checked her parchment again. Only a few more minutes and then she could add the final ingredients. "Pixie dust," she read off softly. Where in the name of Merlin was the Pixie Dust? She had gathered all the ingredients when she began the potion, but now she realized that the amount of pixie dust in the Potions classroom canister was not enough to match the required amount in the spell. Taking the potion off the burner, she cursed softly. "Shit! Where is it? I need to add it soon, because the potion completely cools…and I can't put it back on the heat because I have to add the Pixie Dust when it begins to boil…oh bloody hell, this is terrible!"

Flinging open cupboards recklessly, she soon realized that the Potions classroom only had that one quarter-full canister.

"Well, isn't that great!" Ginny screeched to nobody in particular.

"What's great?" asked a suave voice from the doorway. Looking back, she saw the one person she was hoping never to see again.

"Can't you just wait til seven?" she replied irritably. "What do you want, Draco?"

"Oh, I'm Draco, now…are we playing nice today? How unusual," he said sarcastically, striding over to her potion and doing what he does best- snorting in derision. "You need to add Pixie Dust," he observed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ginny retorted quickly, stepping over to where Draco was standing. "I'm aware. I'll be damned if I can find any though…the Potions classroom canister doesn't have enough to match the amount required."

"Oh, so perhaps you might need this, then?" Draco whispered softly, dangling a vial over her head. From the way it glimmered purple in the light, Ginny could tell that it was indeed very high quality Pixie Dust.

"Deciding to be generous?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, I figured that part of the deal was to let you make this potion in peace, and I took Potions inventory for Snape a week ago…I knew we were almost out," Draco said quickly, looking away from her and handing her the vial.

"Thanks…Draco. I appreciate it," Ginny said genuinely, putting her cauldron back onto the burner.

"Yes, whatever. Just finish the bloody thing," he said quickly, stomping out of the dungeons.

She smiled to herself while stirring in the purple dust. _Perhaps he's not as bad as he seems, _Ginny thought hopefully.

_Or perhaps he is,_ she thought irritably, leaving the classroom with a capped beaker full of the bluish-purple liquid. Upon her exit of the classroom, Draco had promptly asked if it was a positive or negative.

"Would it really matter? If I told you I was positive, could I get out of the sex slave deal?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"Nope," Draco quickly retorted, following her down the hallway.

"That's what I thought. So why does it matter again?" she asked sarcastically.

"Dunno. Just curious, I guess. Wait, have you even taken it yet?"

"No! Okay? No…I'm waiting til I get to the dorms," and with that, she showed it to him from inside her robes. Sure enough, the glittering liquid was still there.

"Okay, fine. But don't forget, dungeons at seven, and I expect a full report of the results then," Draco snapped.

"Fine!" Ginny said with exasperation.

"Oh," Draco said as an afterthought, turning to face her. "And while this deal is going on, I'd appreciate it if you would refer to me not as Malfoy, not as Draco…but as Master Draco. Or Master Malfoy…after all, the alliteration with the last one is rather nice."

Ginny snorted and walked the rest of the way back to the dorms.

"Here you go, Ron. But she needs to drink it soon. If it's negative, she'll glow blue, if positive…well…she'll glow red. But we're just hoping that one doesn't happen," Ginny whispered quickly, secretly handing her brother the potion in a dark corner of the Common Room.

"All right, I'm meeting her in the Room of Requirement…ten bucks says it'll look like a pediatrician's office or something. Just think, the last time Luna and I were there, it was just this great big bed…and there were feathers and roses and…"

Ron trailed off upon the realization that A) he was talking to his sister, and B) since the beginning of his sentence, Ginny had put her fingers in her ears and begun singing show tunes.

"Um…right. I'll go bring it to her then, shall I?" Ron asked quickly, sprinting for the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Right. I'm going upstairs," she said to nobody in particular, trudging the long walk upstairs to her dorm.

Ginny loved her bed. She had claimed the bed next to the window, just as she had done many times in years past. It had a great view. The sun was out today, and sunlight was streaming in through the open window onto her bed. Wait a tic, why was the window open?

Glancing towards her bed, she saw something she had not seen in a very long time. A package. For her. She loved getting mail; it was something she certainly didn't get often enough. The only things Ginny generally had to look forward to in the mail were the occasional letter from Bill or Charlie. Never from Percy, he usually didn't want anything to do with her.

It was large black box, tied with a green and silver ribbon. _Slytherin colors?_Ginny thought curiously. _But I only know one person in Slytherin, and he definitely wouldn't send me a gift…but then again, he did give me that Pixie Dust…_

Cautiously untying the ribbon, she lifted the lid. Surrounded by silver tissue paper was possibly the most divine thing she had ever seen. Taking it from the package, Ginny watched, spellbound, as a green satin dress unfurled itself. Stepping into it and zipping it up, she faced the mirror again. It was the perfect for petite Ginny, barely brushing the floor. Looking closer at the fabric, she realized that not only was it dark green satin, but it was embroidered with tiny hibiscus flowers. A white piping surrounded the edges of the dress, tracing the bottom of it, following the slit at the bottom all the way up Ginny's tan thigh and back down. The collar was Oriental, that much was definite. It had capped short sleeves, and the neckline spliced down over left breast, carefully held together by white fasteners.

Ginny just stared at herself in shock.

She turned back to the box and noticed a note on embossed silver stationery.

_Ginevra-_

_Sorry about the "not owning anything appropriate" comment…I realized that perhaps I should change that condition. I hope it fits…I guessed your measurements. You really must get some robes that fit, it would be much easier to judge your proportions if I could actually view them once in awhile._

_See you at 7._

_-Master Malfoy_

Ginny looked up from the note with disgust. _I don't just have the spare money lying around to go buy new robes, you jackass! And if he actually expects me to refer to him as "Master", he's got a screw loose…What am I getting myself into?_

Looking down at her watch, she read 6:45. Grabbing her cloak to hide her new dress from her brother, she began the long walk down to the dungeons.


	2. Kiss The Boys

**Hot Gimmick**

-Mei Queen

Author's Note- I'll say it again, Neville is not EVIL. He's just an upset boy (and heaven knows what they will do). I actually like Neville as a character, but I really needed someone to fill the shoes of this part…I feel really bad doing it though. Oh, and HARRY WILL NOT PERMANENTLY FEEL THE WAY HE DOES. You'll understand when you start reading. I don't want flames for this…it won't last long, okay? By the way, everyone, thank you all so much for your kind reviews. You all totally blew me away! Those of you that reviewed anonymously, however, did not get one of my awesome thank you notes…so you might want to leave your e-mail when you review! D

Chapter 2: Kiss the Boys

--

Neville couldn't really remember when he had pinned his mother's infidelity to Ginny Weasley. Why go after Ginny? Why not Ron, or any of the other Weasleys for that matter? After all, it was actually their father that had done the wrongdoing…why torture younger generations? Neville had pondered all of these questions carefully after discovering that tainted photograph.

Even Arthur himself knew that Ginny was a "daddy's girl". She had always possessed the spunkiness, randomness and kindness of her father, something that hadn't been passed on to the rest of the other Weasley children. Ron always took after his mother…whining, badgering, mothering, those were the things that Harry always ended up getting the brunt end of. Ginny took after her father, she was accessible, and it didn't truly help her case that the crushes Neville had had on her over the years had been mercilessly snubbed. No, Neville had decided, if he wanted revenge…it just had to be Ginevra.

--

Speaking of Ginevra, the girl herself was slowly making her way to the dungeons. Her speed (or lack thereof) was not helped by the fact that just about any prefect walking by made her jump into the shadows. Though Draco was Head Boy, Hermione was the Head Girl, and Ginny really just did not feel like explaining the whole situation to Hermione or making up some lame excuse as to why she was headed towards the dungeons at night. Hearing voices, she quickly ducked into the shadows behind a tapestry once again.

"How was Quidditch practice?"

It was Neville's voice, of that much Ginny was positive.

"Good, good," said the other voice dismissively. _Harry,_ she thought.

"What happened?" Neville asked, curiously.

"Nothing, really…but that was the problem. Hey, do you know where Ginny is at? She didn't show up at practice, and I'm kind of worried…it's not like her to ditch practices, not at all," Harry finished in a motherly tone.

Ginny smacked herself in the forehead. _That was today? _She thought to herself, panicked.

"No, I haven't seen her at all today, now that you mention it," Neville said apologetically.

"Thanks anyway," Harry muttered gruffly, seeming to quicken his pace.

"Hey, Harry!" Neville called.

"Yeah?"

"Who are you taking to the ball…you know, the one Dumbledore is having to cheer everyone up about the war?"

"Oh, that thing…I dunno, I guess I was thinking about asking Gin," Harry finished quickly.

Ginny eyes bulged as she continued listening.

"Ginny?" Neville asked incredulously. "Why not Hermione?"

"Oh," Harry said softly, scratching his head. "I think Dean asked her. I'm not really sure…but I'll probably ask Gin anyways. I've gotten to know her pretty well through Quidditch and all; she wouldn't be bad to hang out with for a night."

_Not bad? I really don't know if I should be insulted by that, _Ginny thought to herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

"True…alright, well, I'll see you later, Harry. I've got to go work on my essay in the library," Neville said, starting in the other direction.

"Later, Neville."

--

_Did that really happen?_ Ginny asked herself as she finally left the tapestry, positive that the coast was clear. _It couldn't be. I mean, after all these years…Harry Potter wouldn't be as big of an IDIOT as to decide to like me now…right?_

Shaking her head, she continued on the way to the dungeons. That is, she continued until she collided with someone.

"Oof!" Ginny grunted as she got the wind knocked out of her. Falling to the ground, she realized that that someone was Neville.

"Oh, Ginny!" Neville said quickly. "I'm sorry about that! Here, let me help you up!"

Reaching out a hand to her that Ginny took, he swiftly pulled her off the ground.

"S'okay, Neville…No harm, no foul, y'know?" She trailed off realizing that he was looking at her rather intently. As she returned the gaze, a realization hit her- Neville had finally gotten out of his awkward stage. The DA of 5th year had done him well…in addition to being magically fit, he had committed himself the summer before sixth year to being physically fit, and had continued that regimen last summer. Neville's medium-length brown hair flopped in his face, his skin looked tan and he had very nice eyes, which Ginny noticed immediately.

She shook her head. _What am I doing! I'm checking out Neville…that is just wrong. Am I really that desperate? Oh, how sad._

Neville looking caringly at her. "Are you okay, Gin?"

"Yeah, sorry about that, Neville…I've really got to get going," she said, determinedly breaking his gaze and striding off towards the dungeons.

"Ginny, wait!"

She turned impatiently. "What is it?"

Neville locked eyes with her and strode towards her. "This."

Ginny's eyes reflected pure shock as he lowered his lips to hers. She was so confused. Her mind was swimming in so many different thoughts as Neville continued to kiss her. It wasn't that the kiss was perfect; it wasn't that it was amazing…but…it was gentle…it felt safe.

--

"What the fuck do you think that you're doing?" a harsh voice said, interrupting Ginny's surreal thoughts.

Pulling away from her, Neville looked about as shocked at what had happened as Ginny was.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Ginny saw pale blonde locks, icy eyes, and perfect skin…Malfoy.

Draco turned to her angrily. "Do you realize that you are more than half an hour late? And then I catch you kissing this loser! What am I going to do with you?"

Neville had already turned to Ginny, bewildered. He clearly thought that Malfoy had gone completely mad.

"Bloody hell, Ginevra! Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Draco looked at her angrily.

Ginny's eyes clouded over. She was not going to make excuses to this imbecile. She hadn't kissed Neville in the first place, she had to hide from prefects, and she was sneaking out of the dorm…all to see a person she honestly really would be perfectly fine to never see again!

After receiving Ginny's cold stare of indifference, Draco let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, whatever, Red. Just come the fuck on."

Striding off towards the dungeons, Draco Malfoy definitely signaled that the conversation was over.

"Sorry, I've got to go," Ginny whispered apologetically, running to catch up with Draco.

Neville stood in the corridor, trying to figure out what had just happened.

--

"So what was that about?" Draco hissed angrily and he opened the door to a dungeon room for Ginny.

"It's none of your business. Frankly, why you care in the first place is totally beyond me," she retorted sarcastically.

"Of course I care. You are my slave, remember? Every idiotic thing that you do, because Merlin knows you do many, reflects on me now. So stop being such a slut," Draco finished, his eyes downcast. Even though his speech was rude, Ginny could tell from his eyes that his heart wasn't really into scolding her. It was as if he didn't believe what he saying…like there was some small drop of humanity in him, just begging to come out.

As quick as Ginevra had sensed the change in Draco's demeanor, it was gone. Giving himself a little shake, he showed her to a table that was set up with very delicious looking foods- including, much to Ginny's delight, chocolate-covered strawberries.

Taking a seat, she surveyed the food. "Quite the spread you've got here. Do you eat like this all the time?"

Draco's grey eyes met her chocolate ones. "Alone?" he questioned, motioning her to eat.

Ginny nodded.

He chewed thoughtfully for a moment before he replied. "Yes, I suppose. I used to eat in the Great Hall every night just like everyone else, but I suppose once I found the secret entrance to the kitchens back in sixth, nothing's ever been the same. Besides, everyone at this school makes exceptions to the rule for the Head Boy, you know that."

Ginny smiled and shook her head, putting some food on her plate. "I was so surprised when I found out that you were the Head. I thought for sure it would be Harry."

Draco scowled and looked out the window. "I guess we all thought it would be him…apparently Dumbledore had enough sense to appoint someone who had actually been a Prefect, and knew how to do all the necessary duties."

Ginny wasn't quite positive what she had said, but she could tell that she had somehow offended him.

Soon enough, though, Draco came back to reality and picked up a strawberry. Taking the first delicious bite, he swallowed and said, "Enough about Scarhead. What happened with the test, eh? Bun in the oven? Dolphin in the sea? Alcohol in the bottle? Crayons in the box-"

Ginny sharply interrupted. "I understand the analogy! Thank you! But no, um…I'm not pregnant."

She quickly picked up a strawberry to avoid Draco's intense gaze.

Draco looked at her intently. There was something she wasn't telling him; of that much he was positive. She seemed uncomfortable and awkward on the subject of pregnancy…downright…naïve. _Oh, dear Merlin_, _it can't be_, Draco thought to himself.

But the way she continued to avoid his gaze, blushing the whole while, confirmed his suspicions.

"You have never had sex have you? You're a virgin," Draco said incredulously.

She looked down as she replied, "N…No. I've never had sex."

He stood up and started pacing near the window, running his fingers through his hair. "Why were you looking up the potion? Why didn't you correct me?"

Ginny protested, "Well, you didn't exactly give me a chance! You generally didn't let me get much of a word in edgewise! And the potion was for…a friend."

Draco sat down quickly, shaking the table and causing the strawberries to scatter on the floor. "Look, Red. The reason I made this deal was because I've always thought you were hot and it seemed like a good excuse to actually say I got you in bed. Low, despicable, yeah, I know. But that's why. And when you go and pull this virgin shit it makes it very difficult to use you."

Ginny felt downright bizarre as she listened to his whiny words. She almost felt…guilty for disappointing Draco. She didn't care about him or anything, right? She just felt bad that he had gotten his hopes up only to be disappointed…at least that's what she was telling herself. Although meeting his steely eyes across the table, Ginevra wasn't so sure. His blonde hair was loose and falling in his face, and he was dressed very nicely in a fitted sweater and slacks. Draco always looked good, but tonight…tonight even she was willing to acknowledge the fact.

He looked up at her with impatience. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," she said apologetically, looking down at her hands, which were neatly folded in her lap.

Standing from his chair, he walked over to hers and held out his hand. Ginny took it and he gently helped her up.

Draco's face was close, so close that their noses were touching. Whispering softly, he brushed a hair from her face as he said, "Ginevra, I don't know what to do. Even though you are my slave, I still don't have the heart to do…that to you. I'm going to kiss you, though. If you don't like it, you can just leave, and I won't bother you anymore except to make fun of you in the hallways…but if you do like it, well. Just think about it, Red."

She nodded as her eyes fluttered closed. Closing the gap between their mouths, Draco's lips enjoyed insisting claiming hers. There seemed to be electricity between them, and Ginny was surprised to find she actually enjoyed kissing Draco. The kiss was different than the one with Neville had been earlier. It was more passionate, more forceful. There was something so undeniably sexual about it; it was far from the friendly caress that had been Neville's.

When they finally came up for air, Ginny realized that the time a person who hadn't been enjoying themselves would have left would have been about ten minutes ago…and it was at that point that she came to another realization- even though you might not actually like a person, you could still really like kissing them.

--


	3. Thoughts

-

_Hot Gimmick_

Mei Queen

-

Chapter 3- Thoughts

Sitting in a cushy armchair in the Common Room, Ginny twirled her quill idly through her fingers as she thought about the kiss with Draco the night before. It was hot, that much was for sure. She really didn't know what to do. His kiss intrigued her like none she had ever experienced before…it was romantic, it was engulfing, but more than anything…Ginny felt like with some time, their chemistry had the potential to be even hotter. She had left right after the kiss the night before…she was rather scared of what she might do if she allowed herself to do whatever she wanted to in Draco's presence.

Ginevra didn't want to be attracted to Draco. She really despised the thought of Draco, what he stood for, his insistence upon her servitude, his pompous and egotistical nature; she could go on and on. But that didn't stop her from wanting him. When they were alone in a room together, her disgust with Draco didn't stop her from allowing him to insistently kiss her. Ginevra really wanted to say that she was righteous and wasn't even remotely attracted to him…but she wasn't blind.

Draco was the hottest thing she had ever seen.

The quill slipped from her fingers, interrupting her train of thought. As she was bending down to retrieve it, she felt someone brush against her arm and pick it up for her. "Ginny, um, I really need to talk to you," Harry said, handing back her quill.

_Oh, God. This is about that stupid ball…what do I do? Do I tell him I know? Of course not…play it cool, _Ginny thought quickly.

"Oh really? What about, Harry? I'm sorry I missed practice last night…um, I just wasn't feeling very well," she said in what she hoped was a sincerely apologetic tone.

"That's totally fine, Gin…are you feeling better now?" Harry asked, his bright emerald eyes showing how concerned he really was.

_Aw, that's sweet…he really cares! _Ginny thought as she smiled at him, replying, "Much better, thanks!"

"Oh, good, that's really good," Harry trailed off slightly, reddening. "Um…I really just wanted to ask you if you had a date yet for the ball Dumbledore's having."

Ginny smiled at him, thinking quickly. _If I accept Harry's invitation, Draco might get mad…but then again, it's doubtful that he would actually take me anyway, what with all of his Slytherin friends hanging around. _"Um…I guess I don't, no."

Harry gained some confidence with her reply, and smiled. "Would you like to go with me, then?"

Ginny surveyed Harry thoughtfully. He was certainly handsome. Not in the icy-cool untouchable way, like Draco, but in much more approachable sense. Harry truly embodied the-boy-next-door…although if he lived next door to Ginny her whole life, she was pretty bloody positive she wouldn't still be a virgin.

Ginny smiled back at him. "Sure, why not? As friends though, right?"

She thought she saw his eyes flicker with slight sadness for a moment, but as soon as she noticed it, it was gone and replaced with a jovial air. "Of course, Gin…so what colour do you want to wear?"

-

Harry trudged back up to his dorm with a smile on his face. "Just as friends" wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he would take what he could get.

Part of him, a part that was very deep down and he was trying to ignore, knew that he had missed his chance with Ginny.

Harry was at least going to try for her, but he wouldn't blame her if after years of her mindless crushes on him going ignored, she rebuffed him when he decided to reciprocate the feelings…he wouldn't blame her in the slightest.

Opening the door to his dorm, he noticed something unusual. Neville was scavenging through Harry's trunk. Mercifully, Neville had not noticed Harry's intrusion.

Pulling the door back against the frame so that only a sliver of space revealed what was occurring in the room, Harry retreated into the shadows to spy on Neville unseen.

So Harry was watching when Neville carefully held his wand against a very special scrap of parchment and quietly whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And looking at the expression in Neville's eyes as Neville held his lit wand, Harry realized with a sinking stomach that the pledge Harry mindlessly took so often to activate the map was being repeated by Neville…and Neville meant every word.

-

In Draco's room the next day, his face had just turned a rather violent shade of plum. "Tell me, Ginevra…exactly when did you discover you are mentally retarded, because only someone completely dysfunctional would have accepted a **date **with **Potter** in the midst of servitude to **me**!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Draco, but you never really gave any inclination that you were planning on taking me to that ball, and I really wanted to go," Ginny finished simply, examining her cuticles disinterestedly and not looking in the slightest bit perturbed by his outburst.

"Even if I don't take you, you still shouldn't go with **_Potter_** It's just common sense," Draco muttered, looking out the window of his room. Looking back quickly, Draco examined Ginny carefully. She was one of the only girls…hell, one of the only **people** that Malfoy had ever met that didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated by his presence. She acted like she was talking with something about as frightening as a flobberworm.

Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes in response to Draco's comment. She had simply accepted the fact by now that she wouldn't ever be able to completely do the right thing where Draco was concerned. "So what do you want me to do? It's not like you're planning on taking me to the ball. The mistake has already been made, so I might as well go with Harry. You're probably planning on going with Pansy anyway."

"I actually wasn't, for your information, but if I needed a date, I suppose she would suffice," he finished in a bored drawl, meeting her chocolate eyes with a challenging glare from his steel ones.

Ginny looked at him with disgust. "Why do you continue leading her on? Shouldn't you be a man and tell her that you don't actually like her in the slightest? Why don't you give her some damn closure?"

Draco raised an eyebrow in response. "First off, stop talking out of turn. It's rude, and you're not even saying Master Malfoy or Master Draco prior to your insipid comments…so you're making them just that much more unbearable. And second, Pansy is simply around for the days that I can't find anyone better…and I think she has accepted that by now. She knows I'll only call her when I'm truly nauseatingly desperate."

_What a pigheaded ass! _Ginny thought angrily to herself while standing up from the chair. Turning back to look once at Draco before putting her hand on the doorknob, she said simply, "When you treat Pansy like a human being, I'll tell Harry I'm going with you to the ball instead."

Draco just looked at her in confusion. _Why the hell does she care so much about the way I treat Pansy, anyways? Pansy doesn't give a damn about her! I've never met someone before that had so much affection and caring to give that they cared about people who don't reciprocate…it's sickening._

-

Draco's inability to understand Ginny's sudden compassion towards Pansy continued well through his classes the next day, and was still rolling around in his brain when he walked right into the object of his thoughts after Transfiguration.

"Oof!" Ginevra grunted as Draco walked right into her, completely unaware.

"Watch where you're going!" Ginevra said snappily, before looking up into his face. "Oh. It's you."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What a welcome. Next time I want to feel loved, I'll certainly seek you out for a nice 'Oh, hello… you sodding bastard,' or perhaps a 'If you were the last man on earth and the last woman was ironically straight, I still wouldn't speak to you.'"

Ginny giggled despite herself. "Okay. Sorry. But if you haven't talked to Pansy, then you know that I'm still going to the ball with Harry."

Draco's eyes glinted happily upon seeing her smile. He didn't know why he enjoyed making her laugh, but some small part of him felt accepted on those rare occasions that he made her smile…but the much greater part of him felt rather sick at his uncharacteristic catering to her affections.

Draco's smile turned to a frown. "Why do you care about her, Red? She's never even been nice to you."

Ginny thought deeply for a moment. "I guess it's the feminist in me, Draco. No woman deserves to be treated like she is…even her."

Draco's grey eyes went even more steel than usual as he curtly replied, "All I heard in that statement was blah _feminist bullshit_ blah. I expect you back in the dungeons tonight. Seven."

Ginny's eyes widened as she watched him swagger confidently back down the corridor. _Just when I thought he was becoming a bit more human, he turns back into an ass! I have no idea what personality he'll have from one day to the next…he's completely bloody unpredictable!_

-

Though Ginny thought that her difficult day was over, she had one more challenge in store. After her run-in with Draco, she was approached by Neville back in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hey, Ginny," Neville said casually, approaching her usual squashy armchair.

"Oh, hi Neville," Ginny replied rather disinterestedly, opting to stare into the fireplace rather than to meet Neville's earnest gaze. She only had about an hour until she was supposed to meet Draco in the dungeons, and it was all she could think about.

"Um, I was just wondering if you had a date for the next Hogsmeade weekend," he said softly.

"No I don't…when is that, anyway? I hadn't heard about it 'til now."

"Well…technically, it's not until the week before Halloween."

"What do you mean, technically? It is or it isn't," Ginny said simply, looking up into Neville's eyes.

"I was planning on making Hogsmeade come a little…earlier," Neville seemed to be urging Ginny on with his eyes, hoping she would get the hint.

"Oh. One-eyed witch, then?" she asked quickly.

"Pretty much. Are you up for it? What are you doing next weekend?" Neville asked with a smile.

"Sounds fun…sure. Yeah, I'm free next weekend…how's Saturday?" she asked, returning his smile.

"Great. I'll see you then," Neville said softly, and turned to climb the stairs.

With each stair he ascended, his devilish grin seemed to get wider. _Everything is going according to plan…_

-

Author's Note- Sorry to have left you on a bit of a cliffie…I'm going to make a sincere effort to update more frequently, though! Hope you review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!

Thanks especially to **Miss Auburn** on for suggesting the notes at the end of the chapter (among some other really awesome constructive comments), you're absolutely right- I didn't realize I was giving away so much of the chapter by having them at the beginning!

To **Ginny-and-Draco-fan **and **social-flutterby (**both on sorry Neville is the most confusing thing ever…but his character will hopefully make more sense to everyone as time goes on. To **magnoliaTC**(on you're right that Draco figured it out really quickly that Ginny was a virgin…but I can't picture Ginny being that great a liar, and I figure that Draco would have been well-acquainted with liars from his jaunts with You-Know-Who. **Thank you so much to absolutely everyone who reviewed! I appreciate all of your support so much!**


	4. When Draco's Away, Neville Will Play

**Hot Gimmick**

_**Mei Queen**_

**Chapter 4- When Draco's Away, Neville Will Play**

* * *

Neville hoisted his wand a little further above their heads so they could see more of the dark passageway. 

"Have you been through here before?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Eh…once. It was a long time ago, though," Neville said softly, noting her how pretty her chocolate eyes looked in the light.

"Oh. I used to come through here a lot with Fred and George…but when they left, it just wasn't that fun anymore."

"I bet. Are they your favourites out of all your siblings?" Neville asked, head cocked to one side.

"Well…I guess it's not fair to play favourites," Ginny said with a twinkle in her eye, "but when was I ever fair? The twins, Bill, and Charlie are my favourites."

Neville chuckled. "Poor Ron and Percy, they never knew they were so unloved."

Ginny laughed and held up her hands as a sign of giving up. "That's not what I meant at all, Nev! Well, with Percy, yes, of course that's what I meant. But with Ron…Ron's main downfall is that we're so close in age. I have to put up with him, year after year…his whiny antics lose their fun after a bit, you know?"

Neville smiled sadly. "I wish I had a sibling or two to irritate me."

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to offend you," Ginny started in quickly.

"No need for apologies, Gin. It's not your fault I'm an only child, 'sides, I've got Gran and all of bloody Gryffindor to keep me company."

"And you will always have that, Neville. Even when you try to get rid of us, you will always have that."

* * *

The couple soon reached Hogsmeade, and carefully escaped into the busy Honeydukes. Ginny was finding it hard to admit to herself, but she was actually having _fun _on this little outing. (She couldn't wrap her mind around titling it a "date", so it was, naturally, an "outing". Big difference, of course.) 

They happily looked over the exotic candies…Acid Pops, Cockroach Clusters, all sorts, before finally settling on some Sugar Quills and one piece for each of them of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum; Neville insisted on paying, and Ginny was finding it more and more difficult to keep from calling this a date. They left the bustling candy shop for a quick butterbeer at The Leaky Cauldron.

Over the frothy warmth, Neville mentioned perhaps starting up on the formidable walk to the Shrieking Shack afterwards. Indeed, he seemed truly desperate to know if it was as really as scary as it sounded.

"I've never gone, Gin. It could be…I dunno, cool to see."

"I guess…I've gone a few times before, so it's not that exciting for me to see. But I guess I've never really gone at night before."

Neville smiled, pushing back his chair. _She wanted to go._ "See, there you go. We're both benefiting from this little side-trip."

Ginevra smiled in response, getting up from their table. "You're right. Let's go."

* * *

All of a sudden when they reached the top of the mountain, Ginevra remembered why she, in fact, had not gone to the Shrieking Shack at night before. 

_It was dead scary, that's why._

There was actually a light on inside the building and a lot of clanging going on. It was loud and intimidating, but before she could request to go back, or more likely, run away screaming, she realized Neville was pushing her inside.

"What the hell, Neville? Stop!"

Ginny tried to fight against him, but she soon realized that the muscles she had admired just days ago were much stronger than hers. Soon she realized she was right in front of the door, and Neville was nudging it open while fighting against her.

What she saw made her stomach feel like she had drunk too much Firewhiskey, it churned her stomach so much.

_**Oh, dear Merlin.**_

* * *

Draco nodded coldly as a person entered his chamber. _Maybe it's Ginevra. She was supposed to be here an hour ago._

The previous night when Ginny had come to his chamber, they found themselves basically fighting the whole time about his treatment of Pansy. This battle she was fighting was one of the most ridiculous Draco had ever encountered. Pansy hated the girl. So why did Ginny continue in her virtuous battle?

Draco just couldn't understand it.

But looking up from his book ("The Prince" by Machiavelli, naturally), he noticed that the person at the door bore not even the slightest resemblance to Ginny.

It was, in fact, Pansy Parkinson, the object of Ginny's outbursts lately.

"Hi Draco," Pansy began in the snivelling voice she seemed to think was seductive.

"Yes?" he asked curtly and coldly, hoping she was getting the message that he had no desire, now or ever, to associate with her on a more-than-acquaintance basis.

Pansy caught the cold tone, and brought her spine upright so she was standing at her very tallest, and looking down on him with irritation.

"I just thought you might want to know a bit of gossip I just heard, that's all."

"Well, you would have thought wrong. You may leave." Draco said fiercely, looking up from his book to nod quickly towards the door.

Pansy took a step back with her most aggravated expression, but finally gave it up and sighed. "Draco, I wouldn't be bothering you, but I heard that Ginevra Weasley has lately been the object of your affections."

When there was naught but silence to neither affirm nor deny the statement, she seemed satisfied to continue.

"I've also heard that Ginny has something against your treatment of me, and it's been causing fights between the two of you."

Once again, silence, but Draco deigned to look up from his book now. Quirking an eyebrow up at where she could possibly be going with this, he indicated she might continue.

Looking down at her shirt and running her necklace between the fingers in her right hand, she let out a breath shakily. "I just…I appre-…I like…I mean…I guess, I think it's cool that she cares about how I'm treated. And I feel obligated to tell you now that I heard something this morning when passing Gryffindor House on my way back from bloody Divination."

It seemed that Pansy had, indeed, reached the point she was most anxious to discuss and relate, because her eyes were roughly the size of saucers and fixed intently on Draco.

He nodded for her to continue, his eyes getting a little bigger as well. _What in the name of Merlin could a Gryffindor have possibly done? What dumb thing did she overhear Ginny say now? Ginevra, for all her beauty, can be quite a liability with that mouth…_

"It was that boy who always loses his toad…he's a Seventh Year, too," Pansy said softly.

"Longbottom?" Draco prompted quickly.

"Yes, him. He was talking to…oh, you'll never believe it…" Pansy trailed off again, her entire face looking white.

"Get to the bloody point, Pansy!" Draco shouted harshly.

"He was…off in the shadows making a deal with bloody _Crabbe _and _Goyle!_" she yelled quickly, as if regretting having to be the messenger of such news, and feeling that maybe the news would be less painful if it were revealed all at once. (Quick pain…like a Band-Aid)

"A deal…what do you mean, a deal?" Draco asked gravely. It was very rare that the imbeciles were ever able to walk without him, let alone go off on their own to meet Gryffindors and make deals.

"I mean…he's giving them Ginevra. Tonight," Pansy said softly, trailing off at the end, because she knew how upset Draco would be when he heard the beginning of the sentence, anyway.

And indeed, he was upset. By "Ginevra", he had already arisen and pulled on his shoes, and by "Tonight", he was at his door.

"Where are they, Pansy? Do you know?" Draco asked urgently.

"I don't know for sure, but they talked about Hogsmeade. I'd probably guess the Shrieking Shack, that place is usually pretty deserted."

Draco was just about to run into the hallway when he met Pansy's eyes. "Thank you. Ginny was right about you."

* * *

Ginevra, at the moment, didn't feel right about anything, however. 

In addition to Crabbe and Goyle, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini were there as well. Ginny screamed as much as she could, but of course, she soon realized, she was in the "Shrieking Shack". No amount of screaming here could amount to anything but a few renewed superstitions.

She looked behind her to at least yell at Neville, but she realized he had fled.

_And locked the door from the outside._

"Oh…my…God," she whispered softly, as the boys circled her like hungry vultures.

"Aren't you the pretty one?" Nott asked with derision, reaching out his hand to run it across her face.

She reached up to slap him, but realized Crabbe was actually, for once, too quick for her. "_Mobilicorpus!"_

Ginny closed her eyes in pain and frustration as all her limbs were bound and she floated a few inches above the ground. "Let me down," she said softly.

"We're not letting you down until we've had our way with you, naturally," Goyle said with his trademark grunt.

"You sick bastards," Ginny said, spitting at Crabbe.

Wiping the spittle off his face as if it had burned him, Crabbe turned to her with eyes flaring angrily. Putting the wand at her neck, he muttered, "Do that again. I dare you."

Ginevra's face paled. The reality was hitting her. She was all alone in a room with four very unruly and frightening boys. Everyone at the school thought she and Neville were both sick and had gone to bed early. Ginny was quite literally backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

Blaise smirked at her as he ripped along the bottom hem of her skirt, coming up with a fabric to use as a gag. "There now, you won't be spitting or irritating us with your chatter anymore."

_Be strong. Don't give in to it,_ the conscience in Ginny's head was shouting. _Show you're better than them. Show them this doesn't bother you in the slightest. _Somehow though, she couldn't bring herself to follow her own advice, and felt a hot tear begin to make its way down her cheek.

_She had lost all hope._

* * *

As Crabbe came forward to begin to unbutton her blouse (Ginny was hysterically crying by this point), she thought she heard a faint click. 

_Maybe I'm imagining things…I guess since it is such a terrible situation right now I'm hallucinating and trying to find ways to make it better? _She thought to herself softly. _I mustn't hope…it'll just disappoint me more._

So she ignored the click, and the boys certainly didn't act as if they had heard anything. Of course, by now, Crabbe was almost to the bottom of the shirt, exposing her bra, which was making the boys lose focus entirely.

She thought she heard the door jiggle a bit.

The shirt slipped off. Now Ginny was just left in her bra and ripped skirt, bobbing uncomfortably against the wall.

"Skirt next!" Goyle called out merrily. "Zabini, honors?"

Blaise smiled with the recognition and strode forward proudly. "Nice tits," he muttered with derision.

Now it sounded like someone was trying furiously to twist the doorknob.

It was taking all of Ginny's energy not to cry even more. She felt like it was truly time to lose all hope. Her mind raced, for lack of anything better to do, to try to remember what pair of underwear she had put on today. Ginny bitterly hoped it was laundry day and she was wearing granny panties that could ruin the boys' libidos forever, but from the cut of the panties, she could feel they weren't her favourite old granny ones.

"Black thong, boys!" Blaise said with all the excitement of a five-year-old boy unwrapping a brand new train set on Christmas.

Before Blaise could completely unwrap the package, however, there was a loud "_Alohomora"_ at the door.

Ginny looked up hopefully; completely uncaring that she was two pieces of fabric away from nudity.

The door swung open and revealed Draco stately leaning against the doorframe. "Having fun without me, eh, boys?"

The other guys seemed truly relieved that it was just Draco and invited him to join in the fun.

As soon as Draco walked in and shut the door, however, Ginny's heart gave a leap. She could see from the flickering of the old light above them that Draco's eyes were not their usual placid stone-grey. His eyes showed how truly angry he really was, something the boys failed to notice.

Crabbe smiled from the dusty maroon couch. "You can go next, Draco. Take it as an apology for not inviting you, you know? We were invited by that Longbottom, and he seemed pretty fierce about not bringing you."

Stepping forward to Ginny, Draco's eyes met hers. Determined not to look down and embarrass her more, Draco kept his eyes fixed on Ginny's face.

Leaning down to brush a kiss on her neck, he whispered in her ear, "What do you say we get you out of here?"

Ginny couldn't speak with the gag in her mouth, but her eyes lit up gratefully and she nodded.

"_Finite Incantatem," _Draco said softly, holding Ginny close to him as she fell and wrapping her in the extra cloak Pansy had given him for her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, man?" Nott stepped forward, asking boldly.

"_Stupefy!_" Draco cast at Nott, sending Nott flying backwards into a wall.

"Let that be a lesson to you all," he began quickly, holding his wand out as a warning. "You will all be very lucky _indeed_ if you're not expelled within the week. You can tell your pal Longbottom that goes for him, too."

With that, Draco ran his hands over Ginny's hair and hugged her closer to him. Holding his wand out, they Apparated right there in the doorframe.

* * *

Of course, they couldn't actually Apparate onto the grounds, so they found themselves right outside the gate, about a two-mile walk from the actual school. 

"The thought was there," Ginevra said with a chuckle, hugging the cloak closer around her body.

"Where is your wand? We could summon your clothes," Draco volunteered quietly.

"I don't really know. I was pushed in there by Neville…I'm assuming he probably took it with him to be sure I wouldn't use it against them."

"I will hurt that kid so bad his grandmother will feel it," Draco said savagely, eyes flaring up. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"For that matter, _was_ he thinking?" she responded with a smile. "He probably wasn't. The other boys, I don't care what you do with them, Draco…but Neville…please, just don't tell he was involved. I don't want him expelled."

"Ginevra, are you cracked? This boy was the reason you were just humiliated! He thought of the whole bloody thing! Those idiots could never have thought of such a diabolical scheme on their own! It was actually downright sadistic for a Gryffindor, really." Draco finished with a tone not unlike admiration, and Ginny shot him a glare.

"Of course, I don't think it's _right_ what he did, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the fact that he had the whole thing plotted so well," he responded glumly. "I understand what you mean, in a very odd way. But please…don't tell on Neville. I want to find out why he did it. I want revenge…and I want to do it myself," Ginny responded resolutely, pulling the cloak a little closer to her body and holding her head high as they approached the castle.

* * *

**Author's Note-** Hope you liked…this chapter was surprisingly easy to write, but I feel bad for doing that to Ginny….eh, she'll be a stronger person now, I suppose. And we'll **_finally_** know what Neville's deal is, aren't you excited! Tell me what you all think! 

Sorry this will be long…

Thanks(**onPortkey**)****to **soulstealer6669 **for your awesome review! I loved the fact that you ask questions…and yes, I believe Draco does have "virgin radar", lol. Thanks to **glanch8087** because I never have faith in my writing, so it's really cool to hear it commended! And yes,** PrettyPadfoot, **Neville has gone evil…your review made me laugh! Muchas gracias to **Smprsgrrl_¸_** I'm really glad you like how I write Draco…I just don't think he's capable of being completely evil or completely good…so I settle for hormonal ass, hehe. Lol, and as for**Swim17** you thought a month and a half waiting for an update was bad…hehe, now it's been like three months coming!

Thanks **(on ff) **to **too lazy to log in** (lol), I owe you like fifty cookies for how long it's taken me to update…sincerest apologies. And yes, judging by the above chapter, you were right on the dot about Draco saving her! Thank you so much to **heaven **for your awesome review…to know that someone read the manga and enjoyed how I twisted the characters is really special to me! I'm thrilled you like it!

Thank you SO MUCH **(on hpff) **to **RoseB!**Your review blew me away! I'm so glad you liked it! And to **fairgirl, **thank you for your review, and that is pretty awesome that Hot Gimmick is now available in France!


	5. Encounters

**Hot Gimmick**

_**Mei Queen**_

**Chapter 5: Encounters**

Ginny reclined on her bed early the next Saturday morning, watching the sunlight slowly filter in through the curtains in her dorm.

It had been about a week since the Shrieking Shack, but it felt like it had happened yesterday. She had come back to find her wand neatly placed on her bed, as if nothing had happened at all. But something so definitely had. She could still remember the feeling of utter powerlessness so vividly. Girls like Ginny weren't supposed to have rapes attempted against them. **It didn't happen.** Why the hell had she been in the DA if not for the purposes of learning good self-defence? She'd always been praised for her killer Bat-Bogey Hex, and yet the minute that wand had been taken…she had nothing. She had been relying completely on magic for her safety.

She allowed depressing thoughts of what would have happened if Draco had not shown up to drift through her brain. The thoughts were very gloomy, indeed.

Ginevra Weasley had always flattered herself for having good judgment in people. Usually within about five minutes of knowing them, she could tell whether she would like them. Within ten minutes, she could tell whether they were ultimately a good person.

**With Draco Malfoy, she had been wrong on both counts.**

_Why has he been helping me? _Ginny asked curiously, trying to idly count the stones in the ceiling. _He owes me nothing. Why does he even care? A year ago, I don't think he even knew I existed._

Ginny grabbed crankily at the chocolates sitting beside her bed, a "for the sake of Merlin, **calm down!**" gift from Draco.

Draco had been more upset than she was on their way back to the castle, but he was actually angry at the boys for putting Ginny into that compromising of a situation. At Ginny's own request, he had stopped his irritated ranting about it after a few days. Surprisingly, Ginny was angry as well- but only at herself...and it was something she just could not let go of.

There is something about women that makes them fundamentally different creatures than men: the bizarre and unhelpful ability to turn every situation, no matter how big or small, into something that ultimately revolves around **themselves.**

**Sometimes, it's a great thing. **

Other times, like now, all it does it cause the woman in question to suffer major bouts of self-loathing and doubt.

Ginevra had been forced, thanks to that uncomfortable encounter, to doubt herself for about a week straight. She didn't know what power she actually had. She had been constantly calling herself an idiot for not noticing something amiss with Neville beforehand. She had replayed the past few weeks with Neville over and over in her head, and mentally screamed at herself for her stupidity.

_**Of course, none of this made the slightest bit of difference.**_

Draco heaved a large sigh, and sat up in his four-poster. His forest green satin sheets were mussed from the tossing and turning he had been doing in his sleep for the past few days. He couldn't sleep through a night since his own house had attacked Ginny Weasley.

_Draco Malfoy was not the **sentimental** type, make no mistake._

But there was something **_about_** Ginevra. She wasn't stupid, like other girls. She wasn't looking to end up in bed with him (a un-attainability that, admittedly, made her even more attractive, if it were possible). She also didn't want his money.

**It was slightly disconcerting.**

At least he knew exactly what the other girls were in it for before the relationship even started. Their flings were safe. _Predictable._

There was not one bloody thing about Ginevra Weasley that was predictable.

He was supposed to be blackmailing her. He **could** be blackmailing her if he simply decided to put out the effort, but he found that he just could not be bothered. He much preferred her depending on him and relying on him of her own volition. **It was easier. **

_At least, that's what he'd been desperately trying to tell himself for the past week._

But during the latest hours of the night, when he realized he should probably be thinking of the point deductions he had made that day or the upcoming Quidditch game he needed to do well in, he found one thought resounding over and over inside his brain- _What if he wanted Ginny to depend on him because…**he actually cared about her?**_

Finally having had enough of listening to his own frustrating thoughts, Draco threw off the sheets and left his dorm. Going into his Common Room, he stumbled upon Pansy Parkinson sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace.

It had been awkward enough shipping some of his former best mates to the Headmaster's office for certain expulsion after the incident, but he and Pansy had never quite found their level ground yet. He was very thankful for the tip-off she had given him, but he still wasn't quite sure how to act around her. It wasn't such a long time ago that Pansy herself had been fawning all over Draco.

Pansy made it easier for Draco, however, by choosing to break the awkward silence herself. "You know, we've been friends …or _friendly acquaintances_, I suppose…for a long time. I don't want to let this awkward situation come between that."

Draco nodded in relief. "I don't, either. So what do you make of the upcoming ball? Are you going to go?"

Pansy smiled. "Yep, I think so, actually. Some cocky fifth year asked me, and I figured I'd humour him. After all, I can't have you now, can I?"

Choosing to ignore the last bit of her comment, he replied, "Robbing the cradle now, are we?"

Pansy giggled. She couldn't help it. He was the funniest person she knew. She had liked Draco so long that she had absolutely convinced herself it was love. She had adored everything he said, valued every compliment he gave, basked in the moments he was happy with her because they were always few and far between. But she knew that she had to face facts. Draco was smitten. **With another girl.** And no amount of flirting or brazen sultriness would change that. Moreover, if she tried sexual tactics to win him over, she would end up disappointed, and mostly in herself. _She had been fighting a losing battle, and it was time to let it go._

"I'm sorry I said that, Draco," Pansy said softly, her bright chocolate eyes focused on her lap.

"Sorry you said that a fifth year asked you?" Draco asked uneasily, knowing perfectly well what she was referring to.

Not humouring him with an answer, Pansy willed herself not to cry as she choked out the words, "I've cared about you for a long time. I'm not going to lie about that. But I have found that I value your friendship…or what our friendship could become, given time and effort… much more."

He felt his knees get slightly weak. He hated it when girls cried, as Pansy looked dangerously close to doing so. Not knowing what else to do, he sat down across from her, grabbing one of her hands to give her support as she finished what she had to say.

"As much as I would like to live in ignorance of the fact and harbour this silly crush on you forever, you have fallen for someone else. Someone else that, I expect, has fallen for you as well. And as bizarre of a match as it is, and as ridiculous of a family as she has, I can't make myself the person that prevents the happiness of a friend for purely selfish reasons."

Quickly reaching over to give her a hug, he mumbled into her hair, "Thank you, Pansy. You don't know how much this means to me. I know I'm not the most emotional or… **nice**... guy. Well, actually, I'm mostly just a git all the time, and I'm aware of that…but it means a lot to know I have someone here that has my best interests at heart. Especially since I just shipped off my best mates, I could definitely do with someone who cares."

Pansy smiled. **She knew she had done the right thing**. Most of the time, Pansy Parkinson was a selfish, cold-hearted…_witch_. But today… today when she had actually graciously stepped aside to allow a relationship she thought completely ludicrous, she actually felt much better about herself. Even though she would probably never thank Ginevra Weasley to her face for standing up for her, she still appreciated it**. Because of Ginny, she was finally able to let go of a crush she had desperately hung on to all her life. **

Pulling back to meet Pansy's eyes, Draco found himself unable to resist and asked curiously, "And what makes you think she feels the same, exactly?"

Ginny had been unable to meet Neville's eyes in the Common Room and hallways since the previous Saturday. Neville was, naturally, walking on eggshells around her, wondering if Ginevra was only waiting to tell about his involvement in the incident until she was really buggered off, or whether she would tell at all.

Walking up to the Owlery Sunday morning to send a letter to her mum, Ginny overheard voices in the passageway ahead. Quickly jumping behind a suit of armour, she perked up her ears to try to hear what was happening.

The first voice was angry as it asked, "_What_ were you doing in my trunk? My stuff had been moved! You were the only one in the dorms all day; I already asked Dean and Seamus!"

_Dean and Seamus?_ Ginny thought curiously. _And that's not Ron's voice…it must be Harry. Bugger, he sounds bloody scary when he's angry._

The response came out slightly stuttered. "W-well…I n-needed to s-see s-something."

_Neville, _Ginny thought, gasping silently.

"_What, _exactly?"

"U-um. T-the cloak! Y-yep. I w-wanted to nick s-some food from the k-kitchens."

"**Don't give me that**. I _heard _you. You had the map. **What **or **who **did you want to see?"

Before Neville tried to answer, however, Ginny stepped out from behind the suit of armour and went up to the boys. "He wanted to find a way into Hogsmeade."

Harry looked from Neville to Ginny in bewilderment. He had no idea where she had come from, and had no clue how Ginny would know anything about what Neville was doing. Shaking off his confusion, Harry turned to Neville and slowly asked, "What did you need to do in Hogsmeade?"

Neville, meanwhile, was looking at Ginevra suspiciously. Why was she standing up for him? **She was giving him an alibi.**

Ginny seamlessly answered Harry's next question as well. "He wanted to know how to get us to Hogsmeade for our date."

Harry Potter felt like his eyes would fall out of his skull, he was bugging them out so much. _A date?_ _Ginny and…Neville? That is just…_**wrong.**

Neville had finally caught on to what Ginny was doing, and began nodding at her story. "Yup, that's right. Last weekend. I'm sorry I didn't ask, Harry. But I didn't know when you'd be back from classes, and I wanted to be sure I knew."

Harry nodded weakly without a word, then turned and dazedly began walking back to the Common Room.

Neville and Ginny were left alone in a hallway again. Just as Neville opened up his mouth to thank her, Ginny looked up at him and said softly, "Don't worry about it. You gave me back my wand, so I s'pose it's fair. But I do need to know one thing."

He nodded for her to continue.

She asked quickly, "Why did you do it?"

Neville's dark eyes clouded over sadly. He had felt so guilty since he had set Ginny up. He had honestly had a wonderful time with her before sending her to certain doom, and he was really sad when he had to do it. But something in him felt so furious with his mother and her father. Something in him had wanted revenge. Wordlessly, he took a creased photo out of his pocket and let it flutter to the ground.

By the time Ginny leaned down and picked it up, Neville had already begun walking back towards the dormitory.

Looking down at the Christmas photo from 1975, Ginny felt like she would be sick. Instead, however, everything went dark. **She had blacked out.**

Draco Malfoy had had a lovely Sunday morning. He had woken up early, grabbed his Nimbus and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. He practiced deep dives and Wronski Feints until the sun came up, and then walked slowly up to the school. Draco was not usually a morning person, but there was something about the sunrise that made it so easy for him to wake up. The colours, the smells, the sounds. Everything about the early morning made a person really feel alive, and Draco Malfoy was no different.

Walking back to the Slytherin dormitories, he decided to take a long shower before settling in with a book. Maybe he would owl Ginevra later and have her come by tonight. He hadn't seen her in a few days, mainly since last Saturday. She had been going through some serious self-pity in the past week, and it was hard to convince her to do anything. Draco didn't like to resort to the blackmail issue of the relationship, but he found that lately he **had** to just to get her to leave her bed.

The warm water felt soothing as it splashed over Draco's fair skin. Malfoys naturally didn't believe in leaving the house or working outside, so his whole family was as fair (or more) as he. Drying off with one of his favourite deep green fluffy towels, he quickly got dressed.

Picking a book from his shelf, he settled into one of the squishy armchairs by the window of his chamber.

Just as he was really getting to a good part, he heard a knock on his door.

Not bothering to get up, he simply called, "It's unlocked."

Pansy walked in, looking slightly nervous.

Draco felt déjà vu as he looked up from his book to see Pansy across the room, looking like she was, again, the bearer of bad news. "What's wrong?"

Pansy opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking like she was trying to formulate the words that would most painlessly convey what she was about to say. "I, um. I just heard from a passer-by that Ginny is in the Charms corridor, passed out. Apparently the last person who talked to her was Longbottom."

Draco quirked an eyebrow, but got up from his chair. "Did this passer-by bother to get her into the Hospital Wing?"

Pansy nervously twiddled her thumbs as she shook her head.

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, leaving his chamber to…once again…rescue Ginevra Weasley.

Ginny woke up feeling extremely disoriented. Everywhere she looked, all she could see was white. It was bizarre. It felt like she was dreaming, or maybe she had gone to heaven. _Did I die? _She asked herself, completely confused.

Looking to the side of her bed, she noticed Draco Malfoy dozing in a chair, one of his hands holding hers.

She smiled affectionately despite herself. _Obviously I'm not in heaven if he's here. But that also means I'm not dead. Oh. I'm in the Hospital Wing._

Looking around the Wing a little more, she noticed that she and Draco were its only inhabitants. _Probably a good thing._ _No awkward questions about why a Gryffindor and the worst boy in Slytherin are sitting and holding hands._

"Good morning, Red," she heard softly from her side.

Ginny looked back, smiling. "Good morning. What happened?"

"You passed out. I wasn't there, but I found you in the corridor. Pansy mentioned something about Longbottom being involved?"

"Oh yeah. He gave me this," Ginny said sadly, picking a creased photo out of her pocket and handing it to Draco.

She watched as his steely eyes bulged slightly. "So that's why he did it. When did your parents get married, Red?"

"I believe this was the year they got married," Ginny said softly, trying not to think about whether Alice was the only person that her father had kissed outside of wedlock, and whether they had gone any further than kissing. _Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick._

Noticing her nauseated expression, Draco quickly changed the subject. "You were actually right about Pansy Parkinson, you know."

Ginny smiled gratefully at the change, saying tauntingly, "Look who's being civil with Pansy now!"

"Actually," Draco said softly. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. She was the one who tipped me off to you being in the Shrieking Shack. Pansy and I have actually decided to give real friendship a go."

She could feel her smile. It was all the way across her face. She couldn't remember being this happy about anything in a long time. Ginny had finally gotten Draco Malfoy to stop using someone. It may not have been something as miraculous as getting him to join the Order of the Phoenix, granted, but it at least showed Ginny that he was **trying** _He made an effort._

Draco continued speaking quickly, a big grin on his face. "So that means you've got to go to the ball with me!"

She had forgotten that part of their bargain. Ginny had no idea how to cancel on Harry, seeing as she had already given him the impression that she was dating Neville just this morning. Maybe she would just say she was going with Neville, and then show up with Draco. _That could work._

"Yes, I guess it does," Ginny said softly. Suddenly, she realized she was actually looking forward to going to the ball with Draco. Now that his idiot cronies had been expelled, she wasn't as scared to be seen on his arm. Naturally, Ron, Harry and Hermione's reactions would all be simply horrid, but it wouldn't be as bad as the leers and taunting of some of Draco's more obscene pals.

"I had one more thing I wanted to ask you when you woke up, Red," Draco said, slightly nervously.

Ginny nodded for him to continue, fascinated that she had actually seen Draco being nervous, not at all a normal thing for him.

"What are you doing over Halloween?" he asked quickly, as if getting it off his chest that fast would make it less difficult.

"U-um. I don't know. Hadn't thought. Nothing, I s'pose. I think there's a Hogsmeade weekend around then, but that's it," Ginny replied, tapping her finger on her chin thoughtfully.

"Oh. Well. I was wondering if you might like to come on a mini-break with me."

Ginny's chocolate eyes regarded Draco suspiciously. _Why does he want me to come with him? If it comes down to it, I'll have to say yes anyway just because of the blackmail deal. But…what's wrong with me? I actually kind of want to go…just because I want to go._

"Mini-break, eh? Where?"

Draco smiled at the fact that she was somewhat open to the idea, and answered, "The Manor. My parents go to Germany for Halloween every year. I don't really know why. It's their favourite weekend to travel. But I always go home Halloween weekend, my dad writes to the school to get them to let me out. It could be fun. Three-day weekend with no classes, servants, Egyptian cotton sheets…"

Ginny blushed slightly at the thought of what he probably wanted to do with those nice, silky sheets, but found herself nodding. "That would be fun," she said with a grin. And it was about a minute later, during which Draco had excitedly left the Wing and she had had medicine shoved down her throat, when she realized that she had actually meant every word.

**Authoress' Note: **I'm so profoundly sorry for how long it took to update, and I **really** hope it was worth it for everyone! Please review and let me know what you all thought! I just deleted my MySpace so I will hopefully be having more free time to write and update often! Also, a bit of shameless advertising- **if you haven't read and reviewed my latest, "Unwritten", it's only two chapters and is a pretty fun J/L read, if I do say so myself! I hope you'll check it out!**

**Thank you all so much for your support and for not giving up on me!**


	6. Confrontation

**Hot Gimmick**

_**Mei Queen**_

* * *

**Chapter 6: Confrontation **

Draco Malfoy glared, for what must have been the fifth time that minute alone, at the door to his chamber. He sat reading a book in the window seat, but he had stopped paying attention to the book at least fifteen minutes ago. He was stuck at the exact same spot on the page that he had been before.

"Where the **bloody** **hell** is she!" Draco snarled into the silence. "I help her out, I'm nice to her, and I do everything I can think of. And yet, she still makes her visits to me so **low** on her priorities that it's almost like a bloody **favour** she even fits me in at all! Complete…"

"Ditz?" Ginny Weasley supplied with a wheezy air, bursting in the through the door right as he spoke. She had no long ago ceased to knock.

"Precisely," he answered, somewhat mollified that she had actually decided to show up. "Where have you been?"

"Harry caught me on the way out of the Common Room and gave me the third degree," she said softly, trying not to make eye contact with Draco.

Naturally, he noticed immediately, and his tone got icy. "You haven't told Potter you're not going to the ball with him yet, have you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. _How does he always know exactly what I'm thinking? It's like I have a bloody speech bubble above my head, like in the cartoons. _"No, I haven't," she finally deigned to reply. "I was planning on telling him tonight."

"What are you going to say?" Draco asked curiously, getting up from his chair.

"I…I hadn't thought," Ginny trailed off, looking up at him.

He grinned impishly, meeting her eyes. "You could tell him you're off doing naughty things with his arch-enemy, and that that arch-enemy is slightly possessive," he whispered, leaning down to brush kisses along her neck.

Ginny chuckled despite herself. "I'm sure he'd take that well, Draco."

He smiled in return, leaning up to catch her in a long kiss, his hands roaming her body. "I'm sure Scarhead is man enough to count his losses, Red. Besides, wouldn't you say he had a fair five fuckin' years to get a clue? I think it's fair, personally."

Ginny opened her mouth, but found she really couldn't argue. "It's not really like I didn't give enough hints."

Draco snorted. "Red, if **I **knew and I despise all things Gryffindor…you were pretty obvious."

She planted her hands on hips in indignation. "Not **everything** from Gryffindor is bad."

He chuckled in reply, leading her over to the bed. "Yeah, you're not too terrible, especially in the kissing department."

Ginny laughed, her scarlet locks spilling out over his silky comforter.

* * *

After she left Draco's chamber, Ginny found that she was slightly more thoughtful than normal. _I should **hate** Malfoy. Really. I should absolutely despise Draco- um, I mean, **Malfoy**- because he's blackmailing me, ridicules my family and heritage, is rude to my family and friends, and to top it all off, he has a family that's associated with the Dark Side. Really, the chips aren't much in his favour. But I find myself **enjoying** spending time with him more and more. A part of me was actually hoping he would apologize to Pansy just so I could go to the ball with him. I think I'm even looking forward to Halloween, just to be alone with him in his house. What is wrong with me? When did I become sadistic enough to…dare I think it…**like** Draco Malfoy?_

* * *

When Ginny got back to the Gryffindor common room, she found her brother and Harry Potter sitting on the couch in front of the fire.

"Hey Gin, what's up?" Harry asked softly, meeting her eyes. His expression looked slightly hurt. She hadn't realized until right then why he was so paranoid that morning when she was leaving the portrait hole. She had given him the impression she was dating Neville last week, and then never really got around to clearing it up...he was probably confused and hurt. Ginny was tempted to just allow him to believe that she and Neville were going steady so that he being her date to the ball was implied, but she was too honest for it. _Bugger._ _Sometimes, I really wish I were a better liar, _Ginevra thought to herself in frustration.

Just as she was about to ask Harry if he had a spare moment, Ron piped up from his spot on the couch, "Gin, I need to talk to you."

Sighing in exasperation, she looked from Harry to Ron. "Can it wait? I need to talk to Harry."

Ron's brown eyes bugged. "**No, **it most certainly can **not** wait. I am your own flesh and blood, and you want me to wait until you're **done **with your little rendezvous with Harry?"

She hated how much Ron overreacted. He was much more of a girl than she was sometimes. "Fine, Ron, **fine…**Merlin, I feel sorry for Luna. And we weren't going to have a _rendezvous_, just for your information," she spat out irritably.

Ronald sighed, guiding her over to a deserted part of the Common Room. Ginny could see that his skin seemed to have turned a slight greenish colour. Okay, now she was actually getting worried. "Merlin, Ron, what's the matter? You look scared out of your wits."

He opened his mouth to talk, but seemed to be having trouble digesting what he was about to say. "L-Luna…"

Ginny's eyes bugged. Now she knew exactly what he was talking about. **How could she have been so stupid!** With all the hubbub of the past few weeks, she hadn't checked to see whether she was going to be an auntie much sooner than expected! "Positive?" she asked so quietly she was almost unsure he heard her.

But he did. Ron gulped, but slowly nodded his head.

She felt distinctly like she would be sick, and grasped the arm of a nearby chair to support herself. "Oh, dear Merlin. Did…did you tell Mum yet?"

Ronald shook his head. "I was thinking that we might be able to get Dumbledore to allow us to go home over Halloween…it'll be a nice visit, well, until she finds out this part, anyway."

She cocked her head slightly. _Halloween._ _What was I doing over Halloween again? **Draco's. **_**SHIT!** "Um…I'm kinda busy over Halloween, actually, Ron."

Ron's eyebrow quirked disbelievingly as he asked, "Too busy to tell your mother she's going to be a grandma?"

Ginny sighed exasperatedly. _**What the hell am I supposed to do! **If I cancel on Draco again, he'll have a cow. Besides, I really don't want to be at Ground Zero of Operation Grandma Mollywobbles… _"Well…kind of, Ron. I'm really sorry. Any other weekend we could go?"

Ron sighed, accepting grudgingly that she obviously wasn't going to tell him where she was going. "I guess. Let me check with Luna, and we'll see."

Ginevra's brown eyes bugged slightly. "You're taking Luna? She's going to meet Mum for the first time when you're telling Mum she's pregnant with your child?"

Her brother shrugged in reply. "**What!"**

Shaking her head hopelessly, Ginny turned back to the Common Room to find Harry.

* * *

"It's not that I don't like you, Harry," she began softly. Ginevra had led Harry out into the hallway, away from his many admirers and her eavesdropping brother.

"What is it, then? What's going on with you and Neville? Why have you missed two of the five Quidditch practices this week? Where do you go in the evenings! Nobody can find you. As soon as the class bell rings, you're out the door like a shot, and nobody finds you until your roommates see you in bed at night. Ron, Hermione and I are really worried about you," Harry said, trailing off slightly. Then, in an even quieter voice, he said, "**I'm** really worried about you."

Her brown eyes softened considerably. He was such a sweetheart sometimes. "Thank you for caring, Harry. That's really sweet. Let's see…Nothing is going on with me and Neville, actually, that's something I really wanted to tell you."

Harry cocked his head to the side. "But you said that you guys were out on a date to Hogsmeade…"

"Yeah. We were. It…it didn't end well, so we aren't going to repeat it anytime soon."

His emerald eyes seemed to brighten considerably, betraying a hopefulness that Ginny was not happy to squish. "So…you're not seeing anyone?"

She ran a hand through her scarlet locks, twirling one around her index finger. "That's the other bit. I kinda am. We're not really official, but we **are** seeing one another, and that's where I go when I'm not in class…and that's why I've been missing practices. I'm really sorry about that, by the way."

Harry waved his hand through the air as if to signal that it really wasn't that relevant at the moment, and seemed to focus his mind on the task at hand. "Who is it? You and Dean looked awfully cosy. You two aren't back together again, are you?"

Ginny snorted despite herself. _He'll never guess,_ she thought with amusement. "No. No, Dean and I aren't back together. You'll have to see who it is at the ball. He wants me to go with him…and since I'm seeing him, I think it would be rude to go with someone else. I'm really sorry to have to let you down."

His expression turned glum, and his gaze dropped to the floor. "S'okay, Gin. I don't want you to have to do anything you don't want to do."

**_Gods, this is hard,_** she thought to herself sadly, noting how depressed Harry had quickly gotten. "If I weren't seeing anyone, I really would have loved to go with you, Harry. As is, I think it's the least I can do to find you a replacement."

He looked up from the floor, clearly interested in the concept.

"How about Hermione, huh?" Ginny asked with a playful smile, nudging Harry with her elbow.

"Dean's not going with her?" Harry asked doubtfully.

"I don't think so," she replied thoughtfully, scratching her chin while she said it. "I think Dean and Seamus are going with Lavender and Parvati. But there's only one way to be sure!"

"…to ask Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati? That's an awful lot of effort," he replied, grumbling.

"No, you dolt," Ginny said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Ask **Hermione!**"

* * *

Ginny pep-talked Harry the whole way back to the Common Room. "Okay, Harry, you can't pull a Ron, alright? Don't tell her that you just want to go with her because you can't find anyone else. It's rude and an utterly idiotic thing to say. Tell her you want her to go with her because you think you two would have a great time together."

She planted her feet in the floor and turned Harry to face her. "Okay. Pretend I'm Hermione. Ask me to the ball."

Harry sighed resolutely, running a hand through his hair. "This is ridiculous," he said, slightly under his breath.

Ginny looked at him in frustration. "Do you want practice or not!"

He sighed, finally coming to the conclusion that it probably couldn't hurt his chances to have some idea what he was doing. Making eye contact with Ginny's chocolate ones, Harry asked softly, "Um, Hermione? Do you have a moment?"

Ginny smiled sweetly, apparently taking her nose out of an imaginary book. "Why, of course, Harry. Whatever did you need to talk about?'

Harry snorted with derision. "Hermione wouldn't say that. She'd probably just say, '_What, _Harry?' especially if I interrupted her in a book."

"Well, would you rather I was rude?" Ginny asked, her nose wrinkling in irritation.

"Yes, if it would be a bit more realistic," he replied, teasing her kindly.

"Okay. Fine, then. Do-over," Ginny said simply, pretending to shake out her limbs.

"Hermione?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes, what is it, Harry?" Ginny asked in reply.

"W-will y-you…will…will…will you…" Harry stuttered.

"**Good Gods, man!** If you're this bad when we're pretending, you're going to really need to get it together in the Common Room! Deep breaths," Ginny said soothingly. She had forgotten how nervous he got around girls.

"Okay," Harry said, exhaling a nervous breath, seemingly coming to an inner resolve. "Hermione… I was thinking… that it would be pretty fun if we went to the ball together…I always have a really good time with you, and it would be great to have an excuse to hang out with you. Plus, the ball would be much less stuffy this way," he finished, smiling at Ginny.

"That was fabulous, Harry!" Ginny praised with a big grin. _**Man. **I told him the "we'll have fun" part, but the rest of it…that was **all** him. I wonder if Mr. Harry Potter harbours a secret crush on Ms. Hermione Granger…hmm…only time will tell…_

"Thanks," he said with a grateful smile. "Okay, I think I'm ready. Let's go back to the Common Room."

* * *

As the pair walked back into the Common Room, they saw that given the late hour, most of the house was in bed. Ron was nowhere to be seen, some first years were playing Gobstones in the corner, and Hermione was reading peacefully in the chair by the fire.

"Hermione? Do you have a sec?" Harry asked softly, coming up behind her.

She looked up from her book to see who it was. Marking it quickly with the bookmark by her side and brushing her bushy brown locks behind her ear, she got up from her chair. "Sure, Harry," Hermione said softly, allowing herself to be led to a desolate corner of the Common Room.

Ginevra took that as her cue to exit, and trudged slowly up the stairs to her dorm. She could overhear the duo's excited voices from the Common Room as she walked, and she knew immediately that Hermione had agreed. _Good for them. Now if I can only get to the Ball without Ron trying to murder my date, I think it'll be a wonderful time, _Ginny thought to herself sarcastically, sleepily collapsing into her four-poster.

* * *

**Authoress' Note- **Sorry I didn't continue until the actual ball, it just seemed much more appropriate to make it its own chapter, and clear all the "floater issues" out of the way in this chapter. For those of you who have actually read the **manga** this is based on, I'm sorry I didn't follow it exactly. I know that Hatsumi's sister doesn't actually get pregnant in the series. But it made for so much more of a fun plot twist this way. So I'm doing it my way. So sorry if that bugs. Anyway, people. **Review! **Let me know how I'm doing! **And for those of you that haven't yet- ck out my website! **http/ and Cookies! 


	7. The Belle of the Ball

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**Hot Gimmick**

**_Mei_** **_Queen_**

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**Authoress' Note- **this chapter goes out to my BFF Katrina, because I haven't dedicated a chappie to her since Bad Company, and she has generously agreed to house-sit for me when I leave on vacation tomorrow morning. Olivia is hopefully going to be one of my future god-children, right, Kat? Oh and here is the update that I promised all of you. I just wouldn't have felt right leaving on vacation without giving you all a fix in my stories! So, please, **review** because then I will have a nice fuzzy, loved feeling when I get back from vacation on Friday! Thank you and I love you all!

**Chapter 7- The Belle of the Ball**

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Ginevra Weasley woke up the next morning to bright sun glinting in through the window by her bed. _Saturday_¸ she thought lazily, smiling to herself.

A shriek rippled through the girls' dorms, causing Ginny and her dorm-mates to bolt upright.

"Wuzzgoinon?" Olivia Larson, who occupied the bed to the right of Ginny, asked, rubbing her eyes.

Then the first shriek was accompanied by a few more. Then a few more…and then a few more… A few minutes later, Ginny heard footsteps clambering up and down the corridor of the girls' dorms. Resolutely sliding out of bed to see what was going on, her foot hit something.

_What is that? _She asked herself, meanwhile rubbing her temples at the continuous excited screaming going on outside the door. _I didn't see anything when I went to bed last night, but then again, I really hadn't been paying attention. I was totally exhausted._

Reaching down, her hand closed around a beautifully wrapped gift box in Slytherin colours. _Aww_…_I was wondering what I was supposed to wear to that ball. Oh, it's **today!** That's what the screaming is! No wonder…_

Unwrapping the wrapping paper and lifting the lid, she pushed aside the silver tissue paper.

There was no note; obviously Draco Malfoy just assumed she'd know it was him sending it by now.

It was a dress…a stunning, ethereal creation that made Ginny gasp in excitement. The material was soft and sheer, the colour a sparkling white. Pulling it out (to the awe of the entire dorm), a stunning floor-length gown emerged. It had a sweetheart neckline, and to her great amusement, no back at all. It simply gathered into a bustle right near the bottom of her back. _Very adventurous, _she thought with a grin.

"Wow, Ginny. Where did you get that? That looks like it could almost be a Muggle wedding dress," Olivia piped up excitedly, getting up from her bed to examine the stunning dress.

"My date got it for me. Pretty, huh?"

"It will look fabulous on you! White is a universally complimentary colour."

"Well, hey, that's a good thing," Ginny replied with a grin, smiling at Olivia's random wealth of information and examining the fabric more closely. For the most part, it was a sheer white (with a more solid layer underneath), but here and there were bits of floral beading. It was lovely.

--

Ginny stumbled down the corridor, already late to meet Draco as it was. _Damn it, I **knew** I shouldn't have let Hermione do my hair, she took forever, even though it does look better than anything I could have done. I mean, she actually put a flower in to match the beading on the gown! She can be so creative…I wonder if she's going to be late getting to the ball herself because of me. I hope not! I'm late enough for both of us! Draco's going to be such a git when I get there…it seems like I'm always late for meeting him. Bugger._

She was so lost in her thoughts she almost ran smack into someone by the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ginny began, leaning down to check to see who it was.

It was Neville Longbottom, the very person who had put her into such a compromising position just a few weeks ago. Ginny wasn't really sure how she felt towards Neville. She hadn't completely allowed herself to forgive and forget, because what he did was absolutely vile. But she desperately wanted to let go of her grudge, she didn't like having to avoid people or being angry at people in general. Ginny still had the photograph Neville had given her tucked in her dresser by the bed, occasionally solemnly sneaking glances at it, just to make sure it indeed _was_ her father and his mother. _What were they thinking? Why was Dad doing this? He's always adored my mum…why would he do this to her? There has to be more to it than this…_

Neville brushed the dirt off of his robes and spoke, startling Ginny out of her reverie. "Hi, Gin….how have you been lately?"

"Um…alright. You, Nev?"

He ran his hands nervously through his hair before continuing. "Decent. Listen, I didn't really get to apologize properly a few weeks ago. What I did was wrong. It was cruel, and you didn't deserve it. I _am_ sorry that I did it, that I took our parents' actions out on you. It wasn't my place to do something like that."

Sincerely touched, Ginny smiled slightly up at him, saying sympathetically, "Thank you for that. It was pretty vile and completely wrong, yes, but at least I now understand why you did it. You were hurt and confused, and did the first thing that popped into your head. It happens to the best of us."

"You're a great girl; you know that, right?"

She smiled and opened her arms, finally hugging Neville in an action that seemed to wash away her grudges. Ginny was satisfied now. Neville had actually honestly proven himself sorry, and she wouldn't have to attempt revenge on him this way. It was a much healthier, easier way to end things.

"Thanks, Nev," she muttered softly into his shoulder, relief washing over her in waves.

--

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Why is it that when I can't find you and go out looking, you're out with guys that are just going to screw you over? _No_ bloody common sense, I swear to Merlin," Draco Malfoy said irritably to Ginny, walking up to break up the embrace.

"Oh. Hi Draco, how's it goin'?" She replied cheerfully, mainly just to irritate him more. She found that it was something of a hobby to watch him get successfully more and more flustered.

"No apology? Nothing? Just 'how's it going'? Oh, it's going, Red. And _you_ are going, too. Come on, the ball started half a bloody hour ago."

"All right, all right. Hold your thestrals, I'm on my way," Ginny replied grudgingly, turning to smile and wave at Neville before taking Draco's hand so he could lead her back to the great hall. Neville, meanwhile, just stood there stunned. _Did I just see Ginny go off with Malfoy for the **second** time in a month? Do I need glasses? I should ask Harry to try his, maybe that will fix it. Or I'm just insane and suffering delusions…here's hoping it's the bad vision; glasses are so much cheaper than Muggle psychiatrists these days…_

Neville Longbottom walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room scratching his head slightly; meanwhile Ginny and Draco proceeded on to the ball, with Draco tugging her along the whole way.

--

"Ouch, Draco! That arm is attached! Are you listening to me? Let _go_, you bloody loon!" Ginny protested irritably, clutching her wrist in pain.

"Oh. Sorry," he muttered quietly, letting go of the offending body part. Turning to regard her more completely, he said, "You look nice tonight, by the way."

"Thank you. Thanks for the dress, it's really pretty."

"It looks good on you," Draco said with a sincere smile that showed he actually _meant_ the compliment.

"Thank you," Ginevra repeated, returning the smile and meeting his steely grey eyes. "So are you ready to get assaulted by my brother?"

"As ready as he ever," he answered with a chuckle, opening the door to the Great Hall to let her through. Threading her arm through his, they walked into the hustle and bustle of the first-ever "Fall Ball", though Ginny and Draco spent most of the night thinking up more inventive names for it like "Dance Off the Drama" and "Calm the Bloody Hell Down Cotillion". There was a live band enthusiastically playing some hit tune from the WWN, and all the students looked like they were having a wonderful time.

"Punch?" he asked politely over the din of the room. She nodded, and he went off to locate the punchbowl. _He's being unusually considerate tonight, _Ginny thought to herself while waiting for her drink. _It's not normal for him to be this sweet and attentive…it's kinda a nice change, actually. _

Meanwhile, everyone in the room had turned to look at her. She looked good in Draco's dress, naturally, but most jaws were dropping because of who she was with, something she wasn't remotely surprised by. Scanning the room, Ginny didn't see another freckled redhead. _Ron and Luna must be late, too. That explains why Draco and I haven't been assaulted yet. It **did **seem unusually calm…_

"Here you go," Draco drawled, handing her a cup full of a red liquid. Wondering idly if anyone had spiked it with firewhiskey yet, she sipped some before pointing to the dance floor. "You up for it?" she asked.

"I thought the boy was supposed to do the asking."

"It's near the end of the 20th century, Malfoy. Get with the program."

Chuckling slightly at the fact that she never hesitated (or seemed remotely intimidated) when it came to telling him off, he allowed himself to be led out onto the floor by the fiery redhead. As she turned to face him, there was a yell from the back of the room.

"Uh-oh," they chorused quietly, turning to the door to see what the disturbance was.

Harry and Hermione had just shown up, along with…Ron and Luna. And Ron looked livid.

"What are you doing, pawing my sister? What the hell are you thinking, ferret?" the Weasley yelled, quickly closing the distance between himself and Malfoy.

"Ron, stop. Ron!" Ginny protested, trying to get in between the two boys, though Draco _and _Ron weren't letting her.

"It's all right, Red, I can handle this," Draco said quietly, out of the side of his mouth.

"Was he bothering you, Ginny?" Ron asked, looking at her, eyes wide with protective panic.

"No, not at all, Ron. He's my date."

There was a collective silence throughout the room. Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. _This was who she cancelled on me for?_

Luna Lovegood, hilariously enough, didn't look remotely affected by the events. She seemed like she had expected it all along, actually.

Hermione, meanwhile, was attempting (badly) to cover up her shock by tugging on Ron's arm, attempting to get Ron to put his wand down from Draco's throat where it still threateningly pointed.

The band was on break, and most people had stopped their conversations to watch the commotion between Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy, who looked remarkably calm considering the situation. Draco slipped a hand into his pocket, assuming a more relaxed stance. "Now do you believe me, Weasley? I didn't touch your sister. We were just dancing."

Ronald Weasley's face looked like it couldn't get any redder if it tried.

Putting a hand on her brother's wand arm and gently guiding it down to rest by his sides, Ginevra said quietly, "Please, Ron. Just pretend that he's just another of my dates that you dislike slightly for tonight, and you can go back to loathing him completely in the morning."

"Your sister's right, Weasley. Just for tonight, don't try to hex me into oblivion," the icy blonde summed up simply, looking slightly exasperated.

"All right, I s'pose. But I _don't_ have to _like_ it."

Luna came up to him, rubbing his arm and saying soothingly, "That's right, Ronald. You don't. But while you're busy pouting, would you mind terribly if we danced? I'm bored."

Indeed, the band _had_ come back from their break, and had struck up an upbeat tune. Most of the students had grown bored with the interaction between Ron and Draco, now that they were pretty sure no blood would be spilled. Ron turned back to his date with a grin.

"Sure, Luna. Let's go show Malfoy what dancing _really_ is."

"Looking forward to that, Weasley," Draco drawled with a chuckle, watching the unlikely couple go out to the centre of the dance floor. Turning back to his date, he leaned in a whispered softly, "So…how about that dance?"

--

Most of the students had already gone up to their beds or were sitting in chairs around the room nursing swollen feet, but Draco, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Harry and Hermione (along with a few 7th Years from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff) were still up dancing.

"This is our last one," the lead singer crooned quietly into his microphone. "We hope you all have had a wonderful time, and don't forget to check out our new single, 'Do We Need a Time Turner to Try Again?' on WWN!"

The band struck up the tune, a slow, sensual pace, and Draco extended a hand to Ginny. Taking it, she found herself wrapped up in his embrace, swaying slowly to the sweet sounds. Breathing in his scent (expensive cologne), she rested her head against his shoulder, allowing him to lead her where he may. She opened her eyes and noticed something to the left of them.

"Draco! Harry and Hermione are totally _snogging!_" she whispered conspiratorially into his ear.

Indeed, Harry Potter's raven hair were falling in his eyes as his hand tightly held onto Hermione's back, pulling her to him and deepening the already fervent kiss that they were enjoying. His hands were running through her brunette bushy curls, while her hands tangled in his curly locks at the nape of his neck.

"Eww, Red. I did _not _need to know about Scarhead and Granger's personal life, thank you very much," Draco groaned, glancing over to view an image that he was quite positive had scarred him for life.

"I don't think they ever have before, though! Do you think they'll go out?"

"Honestly. Does it look like I care?"

Ginny glanced up to see Draco's impassive expression. "Okay. Fine. I was just saying. Oh, look, there go Ron and Luna!"

Indeed, Ronald Weasley had just pulled Luna Lovegood into a loving kiss that seemed very near to cutting off the girl's air supply.

Draco sneered slightly. "He calls that _kissing?_ We could do so much better than that."

Ginny beamed, meeting his eyes. "Of _course_ we could do better than that. We could do light years better than that."

"What say we give them a little bit of a show?"

She grinned again, more than a little bit devilishly. "You're on, Malfoy."

Leaning down to catch her soft lips into a fervent kiss and wrapping a hand in her scarlet locks, they began the snogging session to end all snogging sessions. When they finally broke to gasp in a bit of oxygen, Ginevra grinned up at him. "We have an audience."

Indeed, all of the couples that were still dancing had stopped what they were doing to watch Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley kiss.

"Wow, you two have chemistry!" Luna exclaimed cheerfully, boldly voicing what everyone else in the room seemed to be thinking. Well, everyone except for Ron, who seemed on the verge of hexing Draco Malfoy into another dimension.

"Um…thanks?" Ginny whispered, glancing up at Draco to see him subtly smiling down at her.

"This has been one hell of a night, Red," he whispered, leaning down to capture her lips again.

"Let's do it again sometime, Malfoy," she panted after breaking the kiss, looking up at him with chocolate eyes full of questions. _When did Draco get so kind, considerate…and **hot? **Honestly. And he just kissed me in public, in front of all of my friends. He's being open about feelings for me. What **are **his feelings for me? Where is this going to go? More importantly, if we're this passionate in public…what is Halloween- **alone** at his **house**- going to be like? Does he expect me to do 'it'? And…if he asks…will I be able to- hell, will I **want** to- say no?_

--

**Authoress' Note- **Okay, there's your guys' fix. **Please review** it; I will be so much more of a happy camper if I get back from my cruise to a bunch of new reviews in my inbox! I love all you guys, and hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

**TO MY 'UNWRITTEN' FANS- **I am very sorry, but that is the _only_ story I will not be able to update before I leave. I really tried to make it, but my laptop has just died on me for the sixth time, it is 10 PM, and my dad is shaking me awake at 4 AM so we can leave by 5…so I profoundly apologize. At least I got all the stories that I left on cliffhangers updated.


	8. Halloween

**--**

**Hot Gimmick**

Mei Queen 

--

**Authoress' Note: **I would like to thank absolutely everyone that rose to the occasion and read and reviewed my last chapter. I had so many reviews for my stories that I actually went through them while I was unpacking, something that made the chore that I usually utterly despise completely tolerable! You are all so wonderful, and I adored all the great things you said. Thank you thank you thank you thank you (I think you get the idea…), and I hope I get to hear from you all again this time, because last time was fabbity fab fab!

--

**Chapter 8: Halloween**

Much to Ginny Weasley's amusement, when she stumbled down to the Common Room the afternoon after the ball (as it turns out, the punch _had_ been spiked, causing Ginny quite the hangover), Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were cuddling on the couch in front of the fire. Ron was nowhere to be found, and the majority of the Common Room was sneaking glances at the new couple; apparently, they were still hot gossip.

"Did you have any of that killer punch?" Ginny groaned, stumbling into an armchair.

"No, thank Merlin. But most of the school is in your same state," Hermione replied with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, we're thinking it was high-quality firewhiskey. Probably a rich Slytherin with nothing better to do," Harry grinned, meeting Ginny's eyes meaningfully.

"Draco didn't do it, he was with me the whole time, Harry."

"Oh, so he's _Draco_, now?" Hermione asked with a giggle. Noting Ginny's death glare, she immediately began to apologize. "Gin, you know that I love you and want the best for you. You also know that I would be absolutely fair to anyone in this school, because, as Head Girl, it's my job. Draco Malfoy is…different. I've worked with him the whole year, and I can't say much for his manners or attitude. But I know how he acts around those things he actually cares for…he got an owl once saying his mother had fallen very ill, and I'd never seen him so protective and frightened. I think that if he really cares for you, Gin, you should do whatever you want."

Ginny cocked her head to the side as Hermione spoke. She spoke like someone who actually _knew_ Draco, and as far as most people went, Ginny surmised, Hermione rather did. The Head Girl must have had to come to some sort of civil agreement with Draco just so that they could get their duties done, she realized with surprise. Hermione seemed to understand her problem so well, in fact, that Ginny found herself telling the couple something she hadn't intended to tell anyone.

"He invited me to the manor for Halloween weekend."

Harry looked slightly livid and Hermione's eyes widened, but she managed to contain her shock better than her boyfriend. "Are you going to go?"

"I think so, yes."

Hermione's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Good. Does Ron know?"

Ginny snorted. "The boy almost pummelled Draco for trying to dance with me at the ball. Can you imagine what he would say if I told him that Draco and I were going on a mini-holiday?"

Harry laughed softly. "I can imagine what he'd say, all right, but you don't want to know."

"I'll make your alibi," Hermione piped up cheerfully. "Harry and I will cover for you that weekend."

"We will?" Harry interjected, looking distinctly pale.

Ignoring his outburst, Hermione carried on, "Ron will be going home, right? He won't ask too many questions before he leaves, and what questions he does ask, Harry and I will make your excuses."

Harry Potter looked less than thrilled with this arrangement, but one glare from Hermione was enough to silence his protests. "Yeah, we will, Gin. But you owe us," was all he could manage.

Ginny grinned broadly, reaching over to give her friends a hug. "Thank you so much, you guys!"

--

Part of Ginny was very nervous as to how Draco would act around her when he saw her next; after all, he had kissed her in public at the ball. Would he be planning on keeping their relationship secret any longer?

_I suppose he is, _she thought to herself grimly as she sat down to dinner in the Great Hall, noticing that Draco was not even glancing her direction. Much to her irritation, actually, every time she glanced over at Draco, he was flirting with Pansy. _I told him to become friends with Pansy, not to be **that** bloody friendly!_

Her sulking must have been apparent, because Hermione leaned over from her spot next to Harry to whisper, "What's wrong?"

Noting Ginny's line of vision, Hermione followed it to see Draco getting what can only be described as "cosy" with Pansy. "I wouldn't take his actions too seriously, Gin," she whispered. "He's probably just doing it for show…I mean, it's not like you two can be completely open about things just yet, right?"

"If there _are_ things to be open about," Ginny admitted. "I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen with us."

"Well, just wait for Halloween. A weekend alone is probably just what you two need to figure out your odd relationship, Gin."

"Yeah," Ginny replied absently, noting the strange feeling coursing through her body. It was anger mixed with something else. _Jealousy, _she realized with a start. _I'm jealous that Pansy can be open with her flirting. I'm upset that Draco kissed me at the ball, but isn't now. This is odd considering the original nature of our arrangement, but I feel…**used? **_

--

As Halloween got closer, Ginny Weasley found herself getting more and more nervous. Everywhere she turned were classmates full of merry jokes, brightly wrapped candies from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes… everyone seemed to be looking forward to the holiday but her. She knew that she would probably be looking forward to Halloween if it weren't for Draco's strange behaviour. Since the ball, he had been seen in the halls frequently with Pansy Parkinson, and she heard rumours about them as a "couple" on an almost daily basis. Due to the awkwardness of the situation and the thankful start of the Quidditch season, Draco and Ginny had not had much time alone together. She wasn't even sure they were still going to the manor at all until she had received a note from him a few days before at breakfast.

-

Ginny was glumly spooning herself her porridge, reflecting on the depressing morning awaiting her. She had two tests, one in History of Magic and one in Potions, two of her most difficult subjects. She didn't even pretend to be interested as the owls swooped in; she was too busy with her favourite activity as of late- staring down Draco and Pansy.

She flinched visibly as sharp pain went down her arm. There was an owl perched stately on the table, impatiently waiting for Ginny to pay attention.

"Like owner, like owl," Ginny muttered, recognizing the hasty scrawl on the envelope.

Red-

We leave for the manor at 9:30 PM, after the Halloween feast. Pack light, we have everything you could really need there.

-M.M.

At first Ginny had been puzzled by the signature. Then a few moments later, it hit her- "Master" Malfoy.

"Are we back to that again?" she had asked irritably under her breath.

--

Later, alone in her dorm, Ginny threw a pair of jeans carelessly into her duffel bag.

"Bleeding"- tee shirt- "Malfoy"- toothpaste-"thinks"-hairbrush-"he can"-toothbrush-"boss"-nightgown-"me around!" With the last word, she got the final things she would need that weekend thrown in.

"Well, that's one way to get packed," Hermione muttered with a giggle, stepping into the dorm as she did so.

"Consider yourself warned, it's a bad day today," Ginny growled, setting her bag at her bedside. "I just don't understand what happened, 'Mione. One day, we're meeting every spare second, we even kiss in public at the ball, and now, he's treating me like the plague and is all over Pansy Parkinson. You know, he didn't even like her until I made him apologise to her! He called her an insufferable ditz! What happened since then? Am I missing something?"

Hermione sighed, sitting down tentatively on Olivia's bed as she did so. "Gin, I think something's happened, something to do with his mum, since the ball. His mum actually came to the school just a few weeks ago and pulled him out of the prefect meeting. She called it 'urgent', and we could hear her yelling at him from inside the room. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but she sounded angry. I've never even heard of Narcissa Malfoy yelling, I thought she just sneered…but the woman has some impressive pipes."

Ginny flopped down on her bed in exhaustion. "I don't really know what to do, Hermione. Should I still go?"

"Maybe he can explain. You're only cheating yourself if you don't go this weekend, Gin."

Patting Ginny's knee gently, Hermione soundlessly exited, leaving Ginevra to dwell in her own depressing thoughts.

--

Halloween arrived much too soon for Ginny's liking.

"It's time to go down to the feast, Gin! Are you ready?" Olivia Larson chirped happily, drying her hair as she had recently stepped out from her shower.

Ginny groaned, pulling the duvet over her head. She had gotten out of bed for classes, and then jumped right back in that afternoon. Her stomach felt like it was swimming with nerves. What if he likes Pansy more? What if they actually **are** dating? Gag me. But mostly, how can Draco go from such an open display of affection to wanting nothing to do with me? What did I do **wrong?**

Olivia was apparently not in the mood to put up with her roommate's odd attitude, however, and flung the covers off of Ginny with a flourish.

"Get dressed," she snapped irritably. "You've been sulking all day, and you're going to miss out on a fabulous feast if you keep it up."

It's time to face the music, Ginny thought to herself with a sigh, heaving herself up off of her four-poster and reaching for some clean clothes.

--

All through the feast, Ginny's foot was nervously tapping against the cobblestone floor.

tap tap tap tap tap tap tap echoed throughout the vast Great Hall. It was drowned out slightly by the usual excited hum of voices, but not entirely.

"Ginny, will you please stop that bloody racket?" Ron asked exasperatedly, his fork clattering to the table as he did so. Ginny noticed that Ron's face had turned an unpleasant shade of puce. She had forgotten in all of the drama of Draco and Pansy about her brother's impending confrontation with their mother.

"Sorry."

Tap

"Gin! I swear to Merlin!"

"Sorry. I'll stop this time, Ron," Ginny whispered, face reddening.

She tried to concentrate on her food, but Ginny soon realized just how nonexistent her appetite was. I've never been so nervous in my life. I was excited just a few weeks ago about this weekend, now I can't wait for it to be over. What if he expects me to have sex with him? He's barely been paying attention to me lately, I don't really know if I want much to do with him at the moment…but what choice do I have? Until Luna and Ron want to go public with their pregnancy, I guess the old deal still stands…

Feeling an unpleasant churn in her stomach, Ginny looked up. For what felt like the first time in weeks, Draco was looking directly at her. Pansy was talking to him, obviously not noticing his lack of attention. But Draco seemed to only have eyes for Ginny at that moment. He smiled at her, and despite her resolve to remain thoroughly pissed off at him for being such an ass over the past few weeks, Ginny felt herself smiling back.

--

"Ready?" was the whisper in Ginny's ear as the students going home for the weekend queued by the Great Hall door after the feast.

"As I'll ever be," she muttered, tucking a stray bit of fringe behind her ear.

Ginny and Draco maintained a peaceful silence while on the carriage, in fact, it wasn't until they had reached, boarded, and settled into a compartment on the Hogwarts Express that Ginny opened her mouth. Making sure the door was tightly shut, she turned to Draco, trying to string together a sentence that would effectively combine all the emotion and drama of the past few weeks.

"What the fuck?" was the best she could do.

Draco's eyebrow quirked slightly, and Ginny noted that his expression was assembling a slightly unflattering sneer. It always amazed Ginny, how even when he was under severe scolding for his actions, Draco Malfoy managed to look superior. I feel sorry for his professors, was all Ginny managed to think.

Calmly crossing his arms over his chest, he drawled, "What, Red?"

"What! You've been flirting it up with another girl and ignoring me for three weeks, and all you can manage is a puny what? I'm buggered off with you, that's what, Draco."

He had the good grace to actually look slightly guilty after her statement. "I wanted to tell you, but I figured we would be going on this holiday and I could tell you about it now, anyhow. Mum heard about us."

Ginny felt like her jaw could not possibly drop any lower. "H…how?"

Draco sighed. "Snape…a few of the rich kids' parents…no surprise there. Apparently there was a flood of owls addressed to her the morning after the ball."

"I…I didn't know," Ginny gasped. That was why he's been acting like such a prick! His mum actually came down here and ordered him not to see me!

"I just figured that Pansy would make the most logical choice for a 'rebound'. She agreed to play along, because she knows about us and she likes you. We don't do anything except flirt in public, just to give people something to talk about."

Ginny felt like an utter idiot. Draco hadn't actually done anything wrong. He had actually…Ginny had to sit down in shock as she realized this…gotten a fake girlfriend just so he could keep seeing Ginny and remaining true to her. This was bizarre.

"You mean…you and Pansy never did anything?"

"Of course not," he scoffed in response.

"And…there's nothing wrong with us?" she asked, motioning between herself and Draco as she asked it.

"Not that I know of," he shrugged.

"So, you're just using Pansy so your mum stays happy?"

Draco looked slightly nervous at this point. "Yes…I will tell her that we're together and she can bugger off if it comes to that, but 'til then, I don't want you to have to put up with more crap than necessary."

She felt her lips curve into a smile, and reached over to give him a hug. "Thank you."

--

When the couple arrived at King's Cross Station, there was a big beautiful black car waiting to whisk them away to the manor.

"Sorry," Draco muttered in embarrassment. "I know it's huge, and I would have done Side-Along Apparition, but I don't know how yet. Our house is also closed off to Floo and Portkey, so this seemed easiest."

Ginny waved, showing that it didn't matter much, and eagerly ran towards the car. As a polite driver took her bags, Ginny threw open the car door, diving into the leather seats. This action utterly bewildered Draco, who had planned to get to the door a step earlier than Ginny to open it for her. It equally bewildered the doorman, because she had just taken away his job. Draco met eyes with the doorman with a shrug. Obviously Ginevra is different from the other girls I've dated, he thought to himself with a grin.

--

An hour and the contents of the car's mini-bar later, Ginny noticed a humongous house, its many lit windows the only light on the sparse English countryside. It was so big that it really wasn't a house…it's a mansion, Ginny thought with a gasp. The house was bigger than any of the ones that had ever appeared in her wildest dreams, complete with columns, balconies, and windows galore. I could only imagine what it would be like to live in a place like this, Ginny thought to herself wistfully, thinking of the Burrow.

Draco draped his arms over Ginny's shoulders, pulling her close to him. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, he said, "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."

Ginny Weasley's jaw dropped in awe. I **am **going to get to live here, even if it's just for tonight and tomorrow, she thought blissfully, leaning against Draco as the car made its way down the long and stately driveway.

--

"So what do you want to do?" Draco asked, leading Ginny in.

"Well, don't I need to get my bags? Or unpack?"

"Of course not, the house elves will do that for you," he replied simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. Well, aren't you tired? It's near eleven," she replied with a yawn.

"Around you for the first time in three weeks? How can I be tired?" Draco purred seductively into Ginny's ear, wrapping his arms around her lithe torso.

Ginny giggled, finding Draco's lips with her own.

Revelling in the moment, Ginny found that she didn't want it to end. She had missed this for the past few weeks. Breaking the kiss, she panted slightly as she whispered, "Promise me that the next time you decide to do something that you think is best for us, you let me know what it is that you're doing."

Draco looked slightly guilty, his grey eyes meeting her chocolate. "I promise."

"Good. How about some cocoa?"

"Sure, I'll call for one of the house-elves."

Pop One of the creatures appeared right next to them. "Yes, Master Malfoy? How may I assist you?"

Draco was opening his mouth to order when Ginny jabbed him sharply with her elbow.

"It's not necessary," she replied swiftly. "Please enjoy your evening."

The house elf looked extremely confused by this statement. Clearly a Malfoy had never told a house elf to enjoy anything, let alone it's evening. Malfoy waved the creature away, and it disapparated with a "pop", still scratching its head about what Ginny Weasley had ordered it to do.

."That is their job, you know," Draco replied sullenly.

"Don't be silly. Show me to the kitchens, I want to make you the cocoa myself. It's my mum's favourite recipe!"

Draco looked at her in exhaustion, finally managing a smile at the redhead's antics. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

--

Ginny found the Malfoy's house-elf kitchen staff to be one of the most helpful groups she had ever seen. They helped her find everything she needed, and were dead efficient, she noted with a smile. They still seemed slightly put-off every time Ginny addressed them. Clearly, they were not used to being addressed by wizards and witches without harsh tones and punishment accompanying those words.

Ginny's mind drifted to the blonde young master of the household. She had left Draco about twenty minutes ago in front of the crackling fireplace in his bedroom. I guess we'll be sharing a room tonight, she thought to herself nervously, feeling her hand shake slightly as she put the milk on to the stove to heat.

When the cocoa was done, she added some whipped cream and cocoa powder (the cocoa powder was what her mother always believed gave it that extra little something, and Ginny proudly considered it the "Weasley secret ingredient"), and set the mugs on a tray with some biscuits to carry back to Draco's room. With the help of a very kind little house-elf, she successfully navigated herself back to the massive bedroom.

Setting the tray down softly on his desk, she noted that he hadn't commented upon her entrance. Maybe he's tired, she thought sympathetically, picking his mug up off the tray to bring to him. But when she saw Draco's form more clearly in the firelight, she realized something- he is **sleeping.**

Not wanting to wake him, Ginny finished her mug of cocoa and biscuit quietly, changed into her nightclothes, and climbed into Draco's massive bed alone. As she felt the supportive mattress beneath her and the warm, soft down duvet close around her little frame, she felt…relieved. Draco Malfoy falling asleep had taken away one of the biggest concerns on her mind right now- would she have slept with him? Ginny was thankful it didn't come down to it, because she had a sneaking suspicion that if it had- she wouldn't be a virgin much longer.

--

**Authoress' Note- **This chapter is for **weasleymalfoy** on who suggested that I make the chapters a bit longer. I did this time, so I hope that this is a better fix :smiles:. Don't forget to review!

**To my readers- **I have news, everybody! MeiQueen has finally bypassed the 100 people who have me on their fav authors list! Yay! That's awesome. Also, Hot Gimmick is now on the Alerts list of 100 readers...but the favs are only 60? Hmm. Make me happy people, if you really like it, add it! Okay. Sorry. Rantover.


	9. The Manor

**-**

**Hot Gimmick**

**_Mei Queen_**

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**Authoress' Note: **Pioneer sex scene. It's not smutty, though. I wanted it to be tasteful, so hopefully it came out that way. But don't say I didn't warn you about that scene's existence, okay? And I hope you like this chapter…please review and let me know what you thought, it was slightly more mushy than most. Hope they didn't come out _too_ OoC.

**-**

**Disclaimer: **Duh. Not mine, people.

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**Chapter 9: **The Manor

**-**

Ginny Weasley yawned, grudgingly hoisting herself up from her spot in the comfortable bed. The satin sheets felt so nice and cool against her skin that she was reluctant to leave the bed and face the world. _Where am I, again? Mmm…Draco's house, right. Must be bloody nice to sleep in a bed like this one all the time…I'd never have insomnia again. Hmm…where is he, anyway?_

Stretching her arms high in the air, she blearily opened her eyes, scanning the familiar room. It seemed Draco was already awake, as the couch he had fallen asleep on last night was deserted. Shrugging, she stumbled out of the bed, picked up a change of clothes and headed out on the extremely formidable quest of finding a loo in the expansive mansion.

-

Draco Malfoy was beyond livid. He knew that Ginny was a little bit nervous about losing her virginity and all, but he had still expected that the weekend would be "busy". And _what_ had happened on their first night in the Manor? Oh, that's right, he'd _fallen asleep._ It wasn't the fact that he had fallen asleep that really angered Draco, since naturally this situation was not his fault; it was the fact that she hadn't had the common sense to wake him up. Folding his arms crossly over his chest, he thunderously opened the door to the kitchens. _I mean, honestly. Merlin, it's such a **hard** choice. Sleep or sex with a beautiful redhead I've been trying to seduce for about half the ruddy school year…hmm…you know, it's just so bloody **difficult. **I really **wonder** what I would choose. That stupid ditz gives me a headache._

He sighed, allowing the house-elves to offer him some breakfast choices. Mutely nodding, he decided on the fillings for some omelettes to take up to his bedroom. Even though he hadn't gotten any action last night, there was nothing saying he wouldn't get any this morning if he rubbed her the right way, so Draco was making sure all the cards were in his favour. He was going to carry up breakfast himself, be kind and thoughtful, and hopefully she wouldn't annoy him _too_ much.

-

Walking up to his room with the tray (it was altogether an earth-shaking weekend for the Malfoy house-elves. This was the _second_ time someone in the household had insisted upon carrying something for him or herself. The poor creatures were about to start going through convulsions), the young Malfoy took a few moments to collect his thoughts outside his door. _Be sweet, sickeningly so. Pretend you're not angry about last night. Merlin knows if she thinks it's her fault she'll probably refuse to speak to you for the rest of the weekend, and that definitely cuts any possible physical interaction out of the deal. Gods, I sound like such an arse right now, just wanting sex…I care about her, but we really have been together for a long time. Isn't it about time for something big to happen? Don't I…**deserve** this by now? _

Draco sighed and, applying a fake smile to his features, turned the doorknob.

-

Meanwhile, Ginny Weasley was somewhere in the west wing of the manor. Not that that meant a bloody bit of difference to the petite redhead, as she hadn't the slightest clue where the west wing was in relation to …well…anything. She had opened close to thirty doors by now, but she just could not remember for the life of her where Draco said that the loo was. Pausing thoughtfully, she noticed some light filtering through a door down the hallway. _Ooh. What's that? I really shouldn't go in, that's basically invasion of privacy. But…it does look pretty interesting. And the loo technically could be in there. Aw, who am I kidding? I'm totally going to see what's in there._

Smiling eagerly and tiptoeing down the rest of the corridor, Ginny gently applied pressure to the middle of the door. Creaking slightly, it quickly gave way, and Ginny was met with one of the rooms she had heard so much about, even in a few of her History of Magic texts (when she deigned to actually read them): the Malfoy Library. This room was one of the most extensive collections of text, especially those concerning the Dark Arts, in all of Britain. Ginny stepped quietly into the room, shutting the door softly behind her. She immediately felt like an intruder in the silence. _It's like a ruddy mausoleum in here, _she couldn't help thinking, running her hands over her arms to soothe the goose bumps that were rapidly arriving. Scanning the titles, Ginny Weasley quickly realised why this was one of the largest collections of Dart Arts books in England…the proportion of dark to regular magical text was about 5:1. Gasping with recognition, Ginny was unpleasantly reminded of something.

In Hogwarts, it really wasn't such a problem, a Weasley dating a Malfoy. Sure, it was scorned, and it was undisputedly odd. But there were no lives on the line, were there? But this…this library full to the brim with recipes for evil…this was _real._ Ginny really was dating someone who had been taught how to read on these types of books. Draco had probably even read most of these. Their families were both pureblooded, sure, but there was a definite difference in their loyalties, in the types of magic that they used. When Draco Malfoy graduated next June…what then? Where would _his_ loyalties lie?

The war was not over. Draco was definitely unlike his father Lucius, the sworn ally of Voldemort. But, the redhead wondered with an involuntarily shudder, feet creeping slowly back towards the door to the library…would his hatred for his father be enough? Would his feelings for Ginny, whatever they were, be enough?

How was Draco Malfoy going to act when the walls of Hogwarts were no longer caging him…and did Ginny Weasley really want to know?

-

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief twenty minutes later as she saw the door to Draco's bedroom. She had found her way to the loo after having a major brainwave: the house-elves. After summoning one, she was quickly and efficiently guided to the bathroom, making her feel like quite the arse for wandering around mindlessly for half an hour. Turning the knob, she was met with one irate blonde.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

_If I only had a Galleon for every time he's asked me a variation of that question, _the redhead thought dryly, easing herself in to the room. "Finding the loo," she managed quietly.

"For fifty minutes?" Draco was incredulous. He knew the house was big, but how dim was the woman?

"Um…I guess."

Draco sighed. He obviously wasn't going to be getting any more out of her this way; she'd probably just get more irritated if he pressed the issue. Relenting grudgingly, he waved his hand toward the tray of breakfast food sitting untouched on his bed. "It's probably cold since you took so long," he muttered irritably.

Ginny shrugged. "Can't we just use magic?"

He shook his head. "Underage wizardry laws apply even here, Red."

She snorted, walking over to sit next to him on the bed. "I thought the rules never applied to you."

Draco allowed her a small smile. "Usually, they don't. But life is cruel sometimes, and we Malfoys are treated like commoners," he finished dramatically.

"Oh, how _horrible _your life must be, Mr. Malfoy. That bed alone…_so_ rough, I could barely sleep."

His eyebrows quirked upward in surprise while his hands were busy with cutting off a piece of omelette. "Really?"

"No, you dolt, I was kidding. You have really nice sheets, by the way."

Draco smiled roguishly. "I told you you'd be enjoying my sheets this weekend." Trailing off slightly, he couldn't help muttering darkly, "…even if I didn't get to."

Ginny's features hardened immediately. "What is that supposed to mean? You're the one that fell asleep."

He could feel his temper rising now. Grey eyes blazing, he slammed his fist in to the comforter, upturning the food tray and sending the eggs flying. "Why didn't you wake me?"

She examined her nails. Ginny refused to allow Draco to intimidate her. It was a tactic she had perfected early on in to their relationship. The more power Draco Malfoy thought that he had, the more he would try to demand, so Ginny Weasley simply did not acknowledge his temper tantrums. "I didn't know you wanted to be woken. I'm not a bloody Seer, Draco."

"You should be, you wouldn't be failing Divination if you were," he muttered darkly.

_What the fuck is his problem? Now he has an issue with my grades? I obviously can't do anything right with him, now, can I? How was I even supposed to know he wanted to be woken up, for the love of all that is holy? _Ginny felt like steam should be coming out her ears, she was so angry. Throwing the fork down on the duvet, she stormed out of Draco's bedroom, making sure to slam the door on her way out.

-

Draco Malfoy flopped back on to his covers, sighing. _Well, that went fabulously, didn't it? I'm such a prat. I need to go apologise to her, but I **really **don't want to. Eh. I'll just let her cool off for a few minutes…my bed really **is** comfortable, isn't it? Hmm…_

And for the second time that weekend, Draco fell asleep at a completely inopportune moment.

­-

Ginny sunk further into the cushions of the Malfoy living room couch. She had never so desperately wanted to leave a place in her life. Ginny and Draco rarely fought, but they made sure to make their few rows really count, she thought bitterly. And now she was stranded in this mammoth house for another day and a half, even though they weren't even on speaking terms. _Fantastic._

The redhead had already raided the kitchen because she hadn't gotten more than one bite of her omelette before Draco's anger had sent the eggs flying across the room. When she went down to the kitchen, the house-elves definitely made sure she got some fantastic food. Ginny patted her stomach affectionately, thinking of what she had eaten that morning. _Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream…mmm…these Malfoy house-elves are something else. They might even be better cooks than my mum, though I'd never tell her. It's sad that such talent is wasted on people like Draco's parents…those poor creatures probably never get complimented at all here. Scratch that, they definitely don't get complimented at all here._

Grudgingly letting out a breath she'd been holding, she concentrated on the crackling fireplace. _I really care about Draco. This fight is stupid. But I can't help being angry…it wasn't my fault. And moreover, this house has really upset me…it's making our relationship seem so unrealistic in the real world. I feel so depressed about next June. I'm not saying we'll stay together until then anyway, but what if we do? What if when June comes, King's Cross is the last time that I see him? Maybe he'll realise that he's a Malfoy and he can't just give up thousands of years of dark ancestry for a girlfriend. Well…if I'm even really his girlfriend right now. We never really ironed out that detail. But, anyway, what will I do? Because, as much of an egotistical little arse as he is, I think…I might…**love** him? Oh, dear Merlin. I am so screwed._

-

It was a few hours before Ginny Weasley, with the aide of an obliging house-elf, found her way back to Draco's bedroom. He was still sprawled across the duvet, sound asleep. Nodding in thanks to the creature and stepping gingerly in the room, she shut the door softly behind her. The click was hushed, but it was enough to startle Draco awake.

"Sorry," she muttered quietly, eyes trained on the carpet.

"S'okay," he replied in the same dulcet tone, beckoning her over to the bed.

Ginny walked over, but remained standing. Eyes focused on her twiddling thumbs, she managed, "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't want to fight."

Ginny Weasley knew as well as anyone that the fight earlier had not been her fault, but she also knew Draco, perhaps better than anyone else in the world. She knew that there was no way Draco Malfoy would apologise first.

Draco had the good grace to look guilty. "You're right, I'm…I'm sorry, too. You know that I'm crap at being sensitive or apologising…so know that this should really mean something. Ginny, it wasn't your fault that I fell asleep. I had no right to overreact."

Genuinely smiling, Ginny sat on the bed across from him. "It's okay," she whispered. Quickly closing the distance between them, her fingers tangled up in his hair as she crawled on top of him for a passionate snog.

Draco smiled roguishly beneath her lips. In between kisses, he managed, "The make-up sex is supposed to be the best, you know…"

-

Ginny Weasley panted softly, her hands tangled aimlessly in her scarlet locks.

She was naked. She had been for…twenty minutes, now? Was that how long it had been since Draco had removed her knickers? Was that really how long the boy and his rather talented tongue had been down there? _Mmm…yes…and he can stay down there for all I care. This is lovely, _Ginny thought contentedly. The redhead was enjoying herself, indeed.

This was not the first time Draco had done this for her. He wanted to much more often than he was allowed, Ginny had only allowed him to go down to her nether regions twice before. It was enjoyable enough; indeed, it was so enjoyable that Ginny often wondered why she didn't allow him to more often. She supposed it might be that she was afraid of what she might let Draco do if she lost control. Ginny Weasley was terrified of what she would let _herself_ do if she lost control.

But, tonight, she didn't care.

Ginny was lost in the moment, in the pleasure. She found with surprise that she actually _wanted_ to. Ginny Weasley wanted to lose her virginity to Draco Malfoy. _Now._

"Draco…please," she whispered quietly. It was hushed, but Draco heard it.

"What, Red?" Draco couldn't believe his ears. Was she really voluntarily asking him to do what he had always dreamed of doing, what he had created this whole ruddy deal for in the first place? _Please let her be asking what I think she's asking._

"I want you…" was the closest to eloquence Ginny Weasley was coming at the moment.

"You want me to do what?" he prompted eagerly, crawling up the bed to be closer to her. He wanted to hear her say it. Oh, _how_ he wanted to hear her say it…

Ginny let out a shaky breath. Gathering her nerve, she managed, "I want you to be my first."

Draco smiled. He had never been quite as excited in all his life, but he did his best to contain it as he asked, "Now?"

The redhead took another deep breath. She was nervous. Ginny had heard horror stories from some of her dorm-mates, the first time was supposed to be "horribly painful" but _after_ the first time, it was supposed to be "worth the wait". At least, that's what Olivia Larson had been emphatically chirping last week. But was Olivia, right? _There's only one way to find out how painful it is, _she thought grimly, coming to a decision. _There's nobody else I'd want to do this with. Draco is the only bloke I might actually love…I don't want to pass this chance up. _

Mutely, Ginny Weasley nodded her assent.

Draco was extremely touched, though his features didn't show it. It struck him as odd, how crudely their relationship had begun. Don't get him wrong, he had deflowered quite a few virgins in his day…but he knew instinctively that his time right now with Ginny, _this_ was going to be different. Every time he would feel romantic or randy in any way from now on, he knew it would be her face that would pop up. It would be this moment. _This has to be perfect._

Gently placing kisses on any body part available, Draco trailed his way back down her body.

Positioning himself at her entrance, he met her eyes. "Are you sure? I don't want you to ever regret this, Red."

Her right cheek felt warm…wet. _A tear, _she realised silently. _He's being so amazing about this. I never could have imagined that the former ferret would have this kind of caring inside that shell…_

Caressing her cheek as he wiped the tear, he continued his gaze, obviously concerned.

"I'm sure. Try not to hurt me too much." Ginny finished with a grin.

Draco returned the smile, and taking a deep breath, began to inch in to her warm sheath. _Slowly…slowly…_he mentally coached himself. It was so hard to not lose control and shag her senseless, and Draco had to use every ounce of self-control. _Almost…almost…**in.**_

He let out a nervous breath of relief when he was buried to the hilt. There had been no screams of agony or anything, so he took that as a good sign. Looking down at his partner, he noticed an intense facial expression of concentration.

"Are you okay?"

Ginny Weasley steadily let out the breath she'd been holding, and noted that her lip was in pain. _I must have been biting it while he was going in. Ow. But, all in all, it wasn't as bad as Olivia made it out to be. It felt like a prick of pain…not too bad, really, especially in comparison with the physical pain I've sustained over the years with all of my brothers._

"I'm actually okay," she whispered, surprising even her. "Just take it easy, all right?"

With a nod of assent, Draco began moving inside her…_very_ slowly.

-

"_That_ was awesome," Ginny whispered, crawling under the duvet in exhaustion. She couldn't believe it. Why had she waited? Why had she been so scared? This was great…it was _fun. _

Draco scooted closer to her under the covers, gently wrapping his arms around her and playing with her hair. "Yes, it was."

Ginny turned so that their noses were practically touching. She hadn't wanted to bring it up, but their time at the mansion had forced her to think about something she really didn't want to. "Draco…what's going to happen with us?"

His eyebrows knit in confusion. "What do you mean, Red?"

"I mean…when school's over, for example. When you'll have your pick out of all the witches in the world. I don't mean to sound insecure by this, but given how we got together in the first place…I just need to know what I mean to you. I need to know what's holding us together, whether it's the fact that we both go to Hogwarts and you think I'm cute, this deal, or whether, given my personality, you'd care about me no matter what the situation brought."

Draco could feel his eyes widening in surprise. He briefly amusingly wondered if she was always so deep after a shag, because, if so, he was unlikely to get much sleep afterwards. _I'll spend the rest of my nights pondering the meaning of life instead, _he thought wryly. Shaking off his thoughts, he concentrated on the question she was posing. "What do _you _want to be to me?"

Her cheeks reddened.

He allowed himself a small smile, prodding her gently. "What is it? What do you want to be to me, Ginny?"

Looking down at her hands in the characteristic motion that always showed that she was nervous, she looked back up and met his eyes. "I want to know…if we're…dating, or if we're still in that 'deal' of yours."

His eyes hardened. "That deal was a dumb idea. It was the only way I could think of to get in to your pants, and it was childish. Now that I've gotten to know you, I find that the deal doesn't matter. I don't want to have to blackmail you for you to pay attention to me. I don't want to _make_ you care about me, Ginny. But just know that I care about you. A lot."

Ginny smiled. She could feel her eyes beginning to water slightly. "Really? So the deal doesn't matter anymore?"

He chuckled. Smiling wryly, he leaned in closer and whispered, "Master Malfoy officially releases you from your servitude."

Grinning, she poked him in the chest. "Can I get that on paper?"

They both began to chuckle. When Ginny's giggles died down, she turned on to her back, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. "This situation is pretty weird, isn't it? You make a deal with me to have sex, but when we finally do, we cancel the deal…and…you're still here."

Draco looked mildly offended. "Did you want me to leave? Because there is that slight snag that it is _my_ house."

She waved off his irritation, showing quite plainly that that was not the point. "It's not that I'm angry that you're still here, it's…you don't _have_ to be, but you've stuck with me. I guess it proves to me that you do care."

"I just told you that I do," Draco replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know, but it's different hearing it and seeing it in real life," she replied, trailing off slightly and turning to curl in to Draco's embrace.

"I know," he whispered, kissing her lightly on top of her head. "So. One last thing before we go to sleep, okay?"

Blearily opening her eyes and turning to him again, she yawned. "What?"

"Ginny, I know we're not 'official', and since you're a commitment type, I know that that bothers you."

She nodded, but her eyes seemed much more awake. _Where is he going with this?_

Draco let out a deep breath. "Do you know why I haven't asked?"

Ginny shrugged. "I just figured you didn't fancy me enough."

"It's not that at all, Red," he muttered. "It's that…well, I'm not _good_ at commitment. I'm not sensitive. I'll cuss at you sometimes. I'll forget your birthday. I'll forget our anniversary, and I probably won't even apologise. I might even be rude to your family, just because that's how I was raised. I wasn't raised to talk to Mud- sorry, _Muggle-borns_ like Granger respectfully. I wasn't even raised to be nice. And you…_you, _Ginny Weasley, are all those things."

She cocked her head to the side, motioning for him to continue.

"I guess…I just don't want you to think I'm something I'm not. Commitment's kinda new to me, and I'll probably be a crap boyfriend, but you'd be the only one I'd even try it for."

Ginny smiled. "Well…_do_ you want to try it?"

"Do you?" Draco countered, stalling for time. Hadn't he shared enough about himself, already? Honestly!

The redhead grinned in response. "It wouldn't be too bad, I don't think."

He squeezed his arms around her tighter. "Oh. Not _too_ bad. So you think you could stand it, then?"

Ginny giggled. "It will be pretty unbearable, but I think I can handle it."

"I'm holding you to that," Draco countered with a chuckle, resting his head on top of hers. Draco Malfoy was not the romantic type. Draco didn't believe in love at first sight, walks on the beach, anything sweet or overly sappy. It just wasn't realistic. His parents had never exactly given him a healthy example of love at work, either. Actually, Draco had doubted the existence of real love until he had met Ginny Weasley. But, it was there, lying under the covers with his new _girlfriend_, that Draco Malfoy really realised something: he was truly different from his parents, and not just because of his ambivalence to You-Know-Who. He was different because he had the ability to really _care, _even if he had never wanted to exercise that gift until now.

--

**Authoress' Note: **Kinda long. Kinda random. Kinda almost over –**_tear-_. **Kinda…um…okay, I'm done. Please review!

-


	10. Hide and Seek

**-**

**Hot Gimmick**

Mei Queen 

-

**Authoress' Note: **omg, I can't believe I've gotten this far. Thank you all **so much** for all of your support, I've had more support from my readers these past few months than I ever have, and I appreciate it more than words can say. (And if you're wondering why I'm getting all mushy, I just realised that I only have maybe **one chapter **left in this story. Holy crap. My thoughts, exactly.)

**-**

**Disclaimer: **If you recognise it, I don't own it. Special thanks to JKR and Miki Aihara for letting me dement their creations. And for those of you that were wondering, this fic takes the basic plot and some of the ideas from 'Hot Gimmick' but it kind of distorts them or gives them different outcomes. However, the plot twist in this chapter will come as no surprise to my fellow 'HG' fans.

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**Chapter 10: **Hide and Seek

**-**

"I can not believe you want me to play such a mindless game, Red," Draco Malfoy drawled with annoyance, flicking a strand of his delicate blond hair out of his eyes. It was Sunday morning, and Ginny was pleading with him to play a game she had always wanted to play in a large house like Draco's, 'Hide and Seek'. "This is ridiculous, you know. It's all so dreadfully…_Muggle._"

"Oh, come on," the redhead begged, gently touching his arm and easing herself in to his lap. Giving his a slow, languorous kiss on the lips, she whispered softly, "Maybe I'll give you a prize if you find me."

That seemed to catch Draco's attention quick enough. His grey eyes glinted excitedly, and he found himself wondering aloud, "A prize like _what,_ exactly?"

"Not telling," Ginny Weasley replied stubbornly, standing up to get out of her boyfriend's lap.

"You know you want to," Draco pleaded, quickly placing his hands on Ginny's hips to prevent her from going any further. "Please…"

"I won't tell," the redhead answered simply, turning to face him. "But, I will tell you this much- it's something you'd really like."

"How do you know?"

"I'm your girlfriend now," Ginny countered evenly, a smirk spreading on her face. "I know _all_."

Draco chuckled in response and dropped his hands from her hips, slowly bringing them in to rest at his sides. With a grand sigh, he met Ginny's chocolate eyes with his own steely grey. "This _prize _of yours had better be good, Red. Alright, ground rules- we are only using the west wing."

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest in irritation. "You have a house the size of Hogwarts, and I have regularly gotten lost just trying to find a loo. How do you expect me to bloody know which one the west wing is?"

"We're in it."

"Oh," she replied, cheeks flaming slightly in embarrassment. "Right."

Draco smiled and shook his head before continuing. "The other important rule. If the seeker can't find whoever is hiding, they'll call for a house-elf to guide them. This way we don't have to shout endlessly for one another…gets tiring. Even in the west wing alone, there are an awful lot of places to hide."

Ginny nodded curtly. "Is that it? Can I go hide now?"

The grin on her face was wide and unmistakably excited.

_Merlin, she's cute, _Draco thought, smiling to himself. Outwardly sighing and bringing his hands to cover his eyes, he drawled in his most bored tone, "One…two…"

"Yay!" Ginny squealed happily before flinging wide the door and sprinting off down the corridor.

-

"Ready or not, here I come," Draco drawled lazily after counting to one hundred. Getting up off his bed and starting towards the door, he called out to nobody in particular, "You better be getting that prize ready for me, Red!"

The young Malfoy gradually made it through three bedrooms, one bathroom, two parlours, one dining room, and one of the game rooms before growling in irritation. He had been at this for about forty minutes now, and there was no sign yet of his favourite redhead. _I'll bet the ditz didn't even hide in the west wing like I specifically told her. She means the world to me, but I swear to Merlin, the woman can't even follow simple directions…_

Draco was about ready to give up altogether and call for a house-elf when he noticed a door ajar at the end of the corridor. _Father's study? That door is never left open…unless someone's in there…hmm…_

A smile slowly spread its way across Draco's pale face as he gingerly made his way down the corridor. He was careful to be extremely quiet; he didn't want to give away the fact that he was on to her hiding spot. The smirk on his face only grew wider as he gently pushed open the door.

"I know you're in here," he said in a singsong voice, shutting the door softly behind him.

Silence.

_Well, obviously she wouldn't be naff enough to give away her hiding spot, _the blond reasoned. _She's waiting for you to find her._

Sighing, he began to check on the other sides of bookcases, by the mantel, under the table, by the armchairs, until there was only one hiding spot left conceivably large enough to house a human being- underneath his father's desk. Smiling broadly, Draco began to walk slowly over to the desk, his feet sinking deliciously in to the Persian rug with every step. As he rounded the desk and was about to crouch down to (more than likely) scare Ginny senseless, he felt his pants catch on something. Looking down, he saw that the loop of his jeans had caught on the top drawer of his father's desk, pulling the drawer almost completely out of its frame.

_Bugger, _Draco thought to himself in annoyance, leaning down to right the drawer. While doing so, he caught a disappointing glimpse of underneath the desk- no Ginny. Sighing and picking the drawer up from the bottom, he felt something unusual tucked in to the bottom-lining. His curiosity piqued, he crouched down to examine. What was lying there was, in Draco's humble opinion, one of the most bizarre things he'd seen in all his life.

It was a picture, and in it, his father was passionately kissing Alice Longbottom.

-

Ginny Weasley sighed in frustration. She had been hiding in the stacks of the Malfoy Library for nearly an hour and a bloody half. _I'm bored out of my mind…I would have expected him to give up by now. What happens when the hider wants to give up? Should I get a house-elf? We never really went over that detail…though, in retrospect, it might not have been a terrible idea… _Crossing her arms over her chest in irritation, she allowed her body to rest against the wall while her eyes closed slightly in exhaustion.

Soon Ginny Weasley was fast asleep, head supported by a stack of Dark Arts text, and feet curled up tightly against her chest.

-

Draco stared in shock at the picture. Taking the picture out of the lining, something else was loosened along with it. Picking it up gingerly from the luxurious rug, the blond sat down to read the succinct letter that had decided so much about so many lives only a few decades earlier.

Arthur Weasley- 

_Enclosed you will find the sum I promised, along with a tidy bonus for your silence. _

_Thank you for your willingness to help, Alice and I are eternally in your debt._

_Sincerely-_

_Lucius Malfoy_

_No way, _Draco thought in amazement, his eyes wide with shock. _No **fucking** way. There was actually a time in the conceivable past when Ginny's family and mine communicated? **Voluntarily?**_

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my things?" an icy voice demanded from the doorway. Lucius Malfoy was leaning against the doorframe, cane securely in his right hand, and look of disdain decidedly affixed to his features. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had, quite clearly, returned home early.

-

"What is this?" Draco managed furiously, holding up the picture with a shaking hand. "What about Mum? Did you ever think about her?"

Eyes blazing with scarcely concealed anger, Lucius stepped further in to the room, shutting the door softly behind him. "I'll have you know," he spat in annoyance, "that Alice and I were together long before your mother and I were married."

"Oh, so she's _Alice_ now?"

It seemed that the violent older Malfoy apparently had a soft spot after all, because though Lucius' eyes were glowing with fury, the rest of him just seemed exhausted at the mention of Alice Longbottom and their past. Collapsing in a leather armchair by the fireplace, he murmured quietly, "I never meant to hurt your mother, so I never told her about Alice."

Draco began to feel the itching of curiosity spark, and he cautiously walked over to the chair across from his father. Sinking in to the comfortable cushioning, he asked desperately, "How long?"

"Draco, honestly, it doesn't matter," his father countered weakly, holding up a hand in protest.

"Yes, it does, so don't avoid the question. _How long?_"

Lucius groaned, his brow furrowing and wrinkles creasing in intense concentration. Resolutely coming to an answer, he determinedly avoided his son's probing eyes as he responded. "Alice and I were a couple from Hogwarts on."

Draco's eyes blazed with defiance at the thought of what his mother would say if she found out about this…this…_Alice_ before another thought occurred to him. "I thought you and Mum got together in seventh year!"

Lucius sighed wearily, his head sinking in to his hands. "We only told you that, son…your mother's younger than me, remember? She was about a third year when I was a seventh."

"Why the hell would you two lie about something like that?"

"Well," the older Malfoy began, obviously weighing his response carefully. "We didn't want to hurt you by telling you the truth of the matter, Draco."

"Which is?" Draco asked with thinly disguised annoyance.

Lucius rolled his eyes at his son's defiance. "The truth of it is that your mother and I had an arranged marriage."

Draco raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. "Do you mind explaining how an arranged marriage is more hurtful than discovering that your father had a mistress?"

"Are you going to be obnoxious the entire time, or do you actually want the whole story?" his father asked in frustration, leaning back in his chair to survey his pouting child. When Draco grudgingly answered that he wanted to know what had really happened, Lucius slowly continued. "Alice and I were together since Hogwarts, like I told you. Her family was pureblooded, so it wasn't such a big deal then. Our Dark Lord had not gained enough power to yet divide the wizarding world. Alice was a Gryffindor, I a Slytherin. That's where the real snags started. We really couldn't tell our families about our relationship, so we kept it secret. We were true to one another, we loved one another."

Lucius' eyes seemed dangerously misty. Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing- his father, the same father that was physically incapable of a bloody hug, had _loved_ someone enough to be true to her and her alone- even if they had to be secret about it? His father and Alice…were like him and Ginny.

His father took a steady breath in and slowly exhaled before continuing. "But then the Dark Lord became powerful. Alice's family went to the light side, as did all the bloody Gryffindors. I tried to persuade her about the good cause of blood cleansing, but she wouldn't hear anything of it."

Draco felt distinctly uncomfortable. His father looked dangerously closer to tears than Draco had ever seen him, and Draco simply had no idea what he would do around a sobbing Lucius. "So she went. Joined the Order, ended up marrying some bumbling idiot, having a kid. Standard shit."

Draco cocked his head to the side curiously. "But that can't be it, after all, Ginny found some picture of her father kissing Alice…it was after you and Mum were married, you know. I found the letter, too…the one to Mr Weasley."

Lucius' eyes trailed down to the floor, cheeks reddening slightly. "We tried to break it off…clean. It didn't work…we missed one another."

Draco's voice was steely when he responded. "So, basically, you both strayed from your marriages and paid Weasley to take the heat."

"Draco, you have to understand," Lucius pleaded, "Alice and I never meant to hurt anyone. We just wanted to be together. And as for Weasley, Alice's husband started to catch on to the affair. Somebody had to take the heat, after all, in those times, if her husband found out she'd been associating with a Death Eater…"

The young Malfoy quickly got up from the chair, his face contorted with disgust. "If you were a _real_ man, you would have been with Alice regardless of everyone else. Fuck everyone else. The only thing that should matter is you, her, and your relationship together."

Lucius kept his gaze fixed on the ground. "I know. That's why I asked your mother not to interfere with the relationship between you and the Weasley girl."

Draco had been walking towards the door, but that statement made him freeze in his tracks. "Mum came to the school and ordered me to break it off, anyway."

"For your sake," the older man muttered sagely, "I hope you did not. Bizarrely enough, the Muggle-lover seems to have had a good effect on you. You actually seem more mature, unbelievably enough."

"She has, hasn't she?" Draco asked, his lips curving up in to a small smile. "What about Mum, though? Did you ever love her?"

Lucius slowly rose from the chair, clutching his cane for support. Applying a smile that ended up more like a grimace, Lucius replied, "Your mother and I are very fond of one another, Draco. Some relationships are about mutual benefit…not sappy notions."

Draco's eyes clouded with sadness for his mother, after all, he loved her, regardless of the interfering manner that she had. Swinging the door wide, a thought occurred to him that made him turn around for one last question. "Whatever happened with Alice?"

"She was picked as a target," Lucius murmured quietly, one hand tracing the intricate design of his cane. "I didn't go on the mission, I couldn't watch…but I hear that she was tortured in to insanity."

"And you didn't do anything to stop it!" Draco asked incredulously, rounding on his father with obvious indignation. He didn't know why he cared what had happened to this Alice woman, but he just did. For some reason, the cause of his father and Alice reminded him so strongly of himself and Ginny…

"I couldn't, Draco, don't you see? We would have risked both of our lives!"

"So instead you just risked hers. Very brave, you are," Draco muttered, sneering.

"All of us can't have the happy ending, Draco. I regret my actions, but there's nothing that can be done now. The only thing that can be done is for you to learn from our mistakes all those years ago."

As Lucius Malfoy turned to look back in to the fireplace flames, Draco saw something he had never before noticed on his father's face- age. The small wrinkles there made him look so much older than he had just a day ago. Draco noticed something else hidden in that wizened face, too- sadness. Lucius obviously regretted the way things had turned out with Alice Longbottom, Draco realised with a start. His father knew how to love, and he had once long before, but now, it just hurt too much to try to love anyone else…even his own son.

-

Ginny Weasley slowly sat up, trying to stretch out the crick in her neck from the hard texts she had used as makeshift pillows. _He still hasn't bloody found me yet? He's right; 'Hide and Seek' is a ridiculous Muggle game. I don't ever want to play this again…it's frightfully dull. That's it. I've had enough. I'm just going to go find him._

Heaving a sigh, the redhead grudgingly made her way down from her hiding spot. Ginny was about to call for a house-elf to guide her back to Draco when she heard a voice that chilled her bones.

"_What_ are _you_ doing in my home?" Narcissa Malfoy asked icily, arms crossed over her lithe frame.

Ginny spun to face her boyfriend's mother, face contorted in obvious annoyance. "I was _invited._"

"Well, consider yourself, _un_invited, Weasley," the woman retorted snidely, sizing Ginny up with disdain. "While you're leaving, you'd do well to steal a few robes from the hall closet…you look like you haven't had new ones in over a decade."

"Thanks for noticing," Ginny spat, biting back a few curse words she'd like to try out on the blonde witch.

"Weasley, the door is right there," Narcissa pointed out in an obvious tone. "I think you know what to do."

Regarding the woman in obvious disgust, Ginny shook her head, stomping quickly to the door. Just as she was about to exit, Narcissa called snidely, "Oh, and if I ever catch you in my house again- well…let's just say that _Avada Kedavra_ works wonders on poorly-clothed rodents."

-

Ginny tried not to. Really.

She hadn't wanted to cry.

Ginny Weasley had been taught by her many brothers that crying was a sign of weakness, so she rarely did it. But Narcissa was just too damn much. What gave her the right to treat Ginny like that? How did women like Narcissa Malfoy manage to survive in the world without the polite masses killing them off? By all rights, people as cruel and antagonistic as Narcissa should not exist.

But she did. Narcissa Malfoy was alive and kicking…and Ginny's boyfriend's mother, a fact that only made Ginny's tears flow faster and more frequently. _If she were anyone else's mother, I'd tell that woman where to stick it, _Ginny thought defiantly, flicking a strand of her scarlet hair out of her blurry vision.

Wrapping arms protectively around her ribcage, she suddenly felt short of air. _What…what if Draco and I get married someday? That…that…witch will be my mother-in-law! I'll **have** to deal with her! Oh, dear Merlin…_

Head suddenly feeling very faint, Ginny sank down in exhaustion against the wall, not the slightest idea where in the Manor she was.

-

Draco Malfoy yawned exhaustedly, stepping out in to the corridor outside his father's study. The conversation with his father had taken a lot out of him. _I never thought I would see this day, but I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts to hang out with my favourite Weasley, talking for a few hours before going to bed early. Merlin, the sad bloke I have become…_

He smiled to himself wryly. _I can't believe that after the way Ginny and I got together…we would have ended up serious about one another. It just doesn't even seem possible for us to be that lucky. Things just worked out for us, I guess. I mean…except for the minor blips of her family and Mum…_

Draco's eyes immediately widened. _Oh shite. Where's Mum? What if she's already found Red?_

Hurriedly summoning a house-elf and instructing it to guide him to Ginny, Draco fell into step behind the creature with trepidation. _What state is Ginny going to be in when I find her? I swear, if Mum's done something to her…my father may have let his relationship with Alice fall apart because of others, but I refuse to do that. If Ginny and I don't work out, it will be because we didn't want it to, damn it._

His face contorted with fury when he saw the sobbing redhead slumped on the floor in the third corridor. "Ginny! What's wrong?"

She looked up in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. "Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to find me two hours ago."

Draco's cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry, Red. I got…distracted."

"Distracted? With what? Never mind, I probably don't want to know," Ginny trailed off with annoyance, throwing her hands up in the air hopelessly. "I had a lovely chat with your mother, by the way."

The blonde's features were guarded as he asked, "You talked to my mum?"

"She talked to me, more like," the redhead spat. "_Oh_ yes, that Narcissa Malfoy taught me a thing or two."

"I'm sorry about whatever she said, Red," Malfoy murmured, pulling Ginny close against his chest and wrapping his arms around her protectively. "Don't listen to her…she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Oh, I don't, do I?" Narcissa asked, rounding the corner with the usual permanent scowl affixed to her features. "Intriguing."

"No, you don't, _mother._ You don't know anything about real love, about people…you don't know anything," Draco spat, pulling the sobbing Ginny into his lap and stroking her hair in as calming a manner as he could manage.

When Narcissa chose to reply, her voice was dangerously low. "I tolerated it, Draco. I went and gave you a mild warning, like all concerned parents would. I'm doing what's best for you, damn it! Don't you see that, Draco? This doesn't have anything to do with _her, _this has to do with the war that's going on right in our bloody backyards!"

Her voice had hit a hysterical screeching by this point, and Draco was regarding her with noticeable alarm.

Narcissa didn't notice the change in Draco's facial expression, however, and kept on as if nothing had happened. "I just want to see my only son safe from harm. If you go after her, then you won't be protected by anyone, Draco. You won't be safe here, with the Dark Lord, or around your father, and you most definitely will not be safe with that bloody _Order_ of theirs…this is a war, Draco. I'm afraid there are casualties, and this little puppy love of yours is just going to have to be one of them."

"Leave them alone, Cissy," Lucius growled from the other side of the corridor.

Ginny looked at him, shocked and choking on a few of her tears. _Did he just stand up for Draco and me? That's not possible. He hates me…doesn't he?_

Narcissa seemed just as stunned as Ginny. She rested her hand on a bony hip as she demanded coolly, "Why the hell should I, Lucius? When did you suddenly start giving a shit about our son, might I ask?"

Draco flinched slightly at being brought in to the conversation, and Ginny noticed his eyes begin to glaze over in fury. She squeezed his hand softly, hoping to reassure him the best she could.

Lucius Malfoy looked weary as he shook his head cynically. Holding up a hand in surrender, he murmured, "Leave it, Cissy. Just bloody leave it, alright?"

Narcissa arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow in incredulity. "Fine, if you're going to get our son killed the one time you step in to make a decision in his upbringing, that's your lifelong guilt, Lucius. You have an hour to get them the hell out of my home."

"It's my home, too," Lucius growled irritably, his eyes narrowing in rage.

"I assure you, I'm aware of the fact. That's the reason they actually have an hour, Lucius," Narcissa retorted frostily before spinning and quickly striding back down the corridor, slamming doors in her wake.

-

**Authoress' Note: **Come on, we don't have much time left together on this story…the least you can do is review!


	11. Understand

**-**

**Hot Gimmick**

Mei Queen 

-

**Authoress' Note: **This is it, peeps. I just want to let you all know how much as readers, prodders, loyal reviewers, cheerleaders, and helpers like Chelsea, you all have meant to me. This has been one of the dearest stories to my heart, just because I love the manga, and because of the overwhelming support this story has received. Thank you all so much, you have made the experience so much more awesome. And, without further ado, this is the last chapter of Hot Gimmick, because, to answer one reviewer, **there will be no sequel.**

**-**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the "Hot Gimmick" main plot, as that belongs to Miki Aihara for the most part (I admittedly tweaked things a bit), or the HP characters, or the song lyrics in this chapter- "Understand" by Joss Stone.

-

**Chapter 12: Understand**

**-**

_I hope you'll understand  
That I can't always come when you call  
Understand everybody has their faults  
Please understand not to worry who I'm with or what I do  
Cause I understand that I'm in love with you  
Do you understand that I'm in love with you_

_-_

Bringing a hand up to her face to shield her eyes from the blinding sunlight, Ginny Weasley groaned. She had been enjoying a wonderful dream, but the light filtering through the window of the train compartment had woken her from her peaceful slumber. _What's going on? Where am I?_

Slightly disoriented and glancing around the compartment, her eyes fell on one Draco Malfoy who was stretched out on the bench opposite her, fast asleep. _He looks like he is enjoying a lovely dream as well_, Ginny noted with amusement, judging by the wide grin plastered to Draco's face. _I'll bet whatever's got him smiling so wide isn't appropriate for the eyes and ears of children, _she mused with a quiet snort.

Sitting up slowly and stretching out her sore back, her gaze trailed out the window as she allowed her thoughts to wander, silently reflecting on everything that had happened at her boyfriend's house that incredibly action-packed weekend.

-

"I assure you, I'm aware of the fact. That's the reason they actually have an hour, Lucius," Narcissa had retorted frostily before spinning and quickly striding back down the corridor, slamming doors in her wake. 

Once the coast was clear of Narcissa, Ginny shook her head, quite obviously stunned by the outright loathing of Draco's mother. But stunned as she was about Narcissa, Ginny found herself far more amazed by the fact that Lucius Malfoy, known Death Eater and git extraordinaire, had found it in himself to stand up to his wife…for his son to date a **Weasley**.

She had looked questioningly up at Lucius, whose stony grey eyes were boring defiantly into her own chocolate. Her jaw dropped slightly, but she seemingly couldn't eloquently articulate all the questions rapidly forming in her brain. The most she could manage was, "But…why?"

His eyes just looked exhausted as he regarded her with stubborn indifference. "It's not for you. It's not for Draco…it's for **her,**" he murmured quietly- more to himself than to the couple, before spinning on his heel and leaving Draco and Ginny alone in the hallway.

Ginny couldn't help the thought that had crossed her mind when she had caught sight of Lucius' sad eyes- he looked like a man who had once been in love, and not just any love, either. From what his eyes conveyed, the older Malfoy had once been in deep, passionate, life-altering love. He looked like a person that had loved, lost, and never been completely whole again. A slight shiver of recognition went down Ginny Weasley's spine at the thought of a man as cold and calculating as Lucius Malfoy actually being capable of love, even if he never seemed able to display affection toward his own son. For some reason, it is so easy to dislike someone if you believe that they are purely evil…it seems the noble thing to do, despising the evil in the world. But Ginevra Molly Weasley was learning all too soon that the world is rarely full of purely evil people. Even pureblood supremacist families like the Malfoys, who Ginny at one point in her life had always figured she would despise, had their problems, granted. But they weren't completely evil- they were capable of **love, **Lucius for his lost love of long ago, Narcissa for Draco, and Draco…for Ginny.

_A tear slipped down her freckled cheek. "What are we going to do, Draco?"_

_The confusion was obvious in Draco's face as he cautiously asked, running a hand comfortingly in circles on Ginny's back, "What are we going to do about what, exactly?"_

"_Us!" she shouted in annoyance, standing up, sniffling. "I care about you, Draco, but your mother hates me. She hates that you're dating me. Your dad has apparently **completely** cracked since he seems to have no problem with us, which I don't mind…but how long is that going to last? What if your dad wakes up tomorrow and suddenly hates the idea of us again? What will you do?"_

_Draco looked temporarily stunned by her outburst, but the last question he answered immediately. "Red, my dad can't tear us apart. You know that…mum didn't have any effect, so why should the father that's barely paid any attention to me my entire life matter?"_

"_I know," Ginny murmured grudgingly, uncrossing her arms and falling in to Draco's embrace. "Doesn't make it any less hard, though. What your mum said was true. We **are** in a war. What side will you be on? Where will we go? We're not safe anywhere anymore, Draco."_

_He allowed his head to rest on top of the petite redhead's, taking a deep breath and expelling it with a sigh. "I'm not saying it will be easy, Red. We'll be running as soon as you're out of school. I'll probably be hiding the whole next year that you're still at Hogwarts, unless Scarhead clears up this mess faster than I think he will. But one thing I will promise you…"_

_Draco gently pulled Ginny back, making sure he had her full attention, looked in to her eyes. Softly, he whispered, "I will never let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?"_

_Ginny's lips curved up into a brief smile and she slowly nodded. _

"_Okay then," the blond replied, obviously relieved to have an end to the tense, mushy conversation. "What say we get ourselves packed and get the hell out of here?"_

"_Hear, hear," Ginny had echoed with a grin before swivelling to race Draco back to his bedroom._

_-_

Now, in their train compartment, Draco Malfoy was finally stirring. Eyes gradually opening and stretching his pale arms above his head in a yawn, his eyes met those of his girlfriend. "Hi," he murmured scratchily, rubbing his eyes slowly.

"Well, hello there," Ginny replied with a smile, grinning at how sweet the "supposed Death Eater and all-around badass" looked when he was waking up. She grinned even more to herself, thinking of how only she got to see him this way. Ginny Weasley was the only person in the world who Draco allowed to see him at his most vulnerable. "So how was your rest? You had a good dream, I could tell."

Draco grinned slyly. "You might have been in that dream, you know."

"Well, I should hope so," the redhead retorted with a snort. "If it was some cow like Celestina Warbeck, I'd be forced to slap you."

He chuckled quietly, his gaze trailing out the window, eyes focusing on the rolling green hills. "So…when we get back to Hogwarts…"

Ginny's eyes darted from the window to his. "We're official, right?"

"Of course," the blond replied without hesitation.

"Well, then," she concluded logically, "we tell. Or we just go public and wait for people to figure things out by the public affection, eh?"

He smirked roguishly in response. "I'm rather more for the second plan…I like the sound of that public affection."

Ginny ignored the suggestive comment, instead expelling a sigh and murmuring, "Merlin, what's Ron going to say?"

Draco snorted. "Let me worry about him. You just gear yourself up for that public affection, Red."

The redhead rolled her eyes, playfully slapping his arm. "I think you'll need that practise more than me, mister."

Then a thought occurred to Ginny. "Hey, I have a question."

"What is it, Red?" he asked while cautiously getting up to sit on the bench next to Ginny.

"What happened with your dad? What happened to make him defend us?"

Draco smiled wryly. "You're never going to believe the irony of _this_ story…"

-

_I keep our song on repeat  
On my iPod, even when I sleep  
And in my dream I'm holding you  
Alone on an island just us two_

_-_

"You and Malfoy are…_what?"_ Ronald Weasley asked hysterically at supper that evening after Ginny had relayed a condensed and carefully edited version of the weekend's events to her older brother.

"Dating," Ginny supplied, obviously completely undisturbed by her brother's outburst. "He asked me to be official yesterday."

"Please tell me you're joking," Harry Potter interrupted, his eyes widening as he leaned over Hermione to talk to Ginny.

"Shut it, Harry," Hermione murmured in Ginny's defence, eyeing her boyfriend with irritation. "She already has to deal with Ron right now, she doesn't need _you_ on her case about it, too."

"Oh, so you're on her side, now? You _want_ to see Ginny dating the ferret?" Harry demanded hotly, turning to face his girlfriend with his arms crossed over his chest defensively.

"Well," the brunette reasoned slowly, clearly mulling over her answer carefully. "Malfoy isn't all bad. He genuinely seems to care for Ginny, so I really have no objection or say in the matter whatsoever. And neither do you, Harry."

"But-"

"No buts," the Head Girl retorted firmly, taking Harry by the hand. "Let's go back to the tower and let Ron and Ginny sort this out, all right?"

Grudgingly, Harry followed Hermione back to Gryffindor, allowing Ron and Ginny a moment alone.

When the couple was out of earshot, Ron turned to Ginny furiously. "I can't believe you agreed to something so _stupid_, Gin. Didn't Mum teach you anything?"

"You should talk," she retorted immediately. "You're the one that's going to be a bloody _father, _for chrissakes. How _did_ Mum take that, by the way?"

"Oh, fantastically," Ron muttered irritably. "She was a right cow about it at first, but once she was used to the idea, she started fussing over Luna like you wouldn't believe. Kept asking if Luna felt remotely hungry, wanted a cup of tea…she sent us home with the most brilliant care package, treacle tarts, mince pies, the works. But naturally, she said I wasn't to touch any of it. Apparently it's all for the health of her unborn grandchild."

Ginny snorted with laughter. "So… what did Mum think of Luna?"

Ron's face coloured slightly. "She likes her well enough, I think. But of course, Luna had to say something when we'd only been there but five minutes about how our garden was the perfect breeding ground for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack…sent Mum into a tizzy, she wasn't entirely sure if it was an insult or not..."

Ginny's giggles only got more uncontrollable. "That's hysterical!"

When she had calmed down slightly, Ron looked her in the eye cautiously. "So…this thing with you and Malfoy…"

"-Is serious," Draco Malfoy interrupted, striding up to the Weasleys and laying a supportive hand on Ginny's back. "Very serious, indeed."

Ron gulped slightly. "Oh, great," he muttered weakly. "Do you mind? I'm trying to talk to my sister here."

"Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of him, Ron. It doesn't matter," she retorted stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest and regarding her brother defiantly.

"Fine," the redhead replied testily. "Well… I'm not thrilled about this, Gin. I think you're making a mistake. But if he really cares about you-"

"Which I do," Draco interjected.

Ron cocked an eyebrow in annoyance at the interruption. "Like I was saying, _if _he really cares about you, then I guess I'll just have to deal with it."

"Yes, you will," Ginny replied with an appreciative nod. Reaching over to give her brother a hug, she smiled, whispering, "Thank you for understanding."

-

It was pretty late and Ginny Weasley had long since left Draco's chambers, and now she was on the last leg of the long walk from the Slytherin dungeons up to Gryffindor tower, fervently hoping a prefect or Hermione wouldn't catch her out of bed.

Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed someone huddled underneath the portrait of the Fat Lady, who, Ginevra noted with a groan, was annoyingly absent. Silently easing herself in to the shadows, she squinted to make out the figure. _Neville, _she realised with a startled gasp. Cautiously walking over, she knelt down, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Gran, I don't wanna go to school," he moaned quietly in his sleep.

She stifled a giggle as she tapped again, this time also loudly calling his name, which seemed to startle Neville awake quickly enough.

"Oh." Neville muttered, sitting up against the wall. "Hi Ginny."

"Hi," she replied with a chuckle, sitting down beside him. "Hey, I have something to tell you about."

"What?" he asked, quite obviously surprised that Ginny was even voluntarily talking to him as she had made it priority to avoid him since the "incident."

"You know that picture you showed me? Of your mum and my dad?"

He nodded, not bothering to hide his discomfort.

"That was staged. She wasn't really with my dad," Ginny muttered, eyes trained on the ground and mentally reflecting on the story that Draco had told her on the train of Lucius and Alice's star-crossed love.

Neville Longbottom, meanwhile, looked shocked. His jaw dropped before he replied, "So she didn't…"

"Oh, no," Ginny answered, cutting off his sentence. "She _did, _just not with my dad. Her relationship was with somebody else."

"Who?" Neville demanded threateningly, eyes blazing in fury.

"Does it even matter?" the redhead asked gently, placing a comforting hand on his forearm. "It really doesn't, Nev. If you tried to get 'revenge' on somebody else, you'd just wind up feeling guilty and depressed, and then where would we be? I know you want your mother's memory to be a good one, and I really understand that. But you can't just keep recklessly trying to solve the problems of her past. She made some mistakes. But it's not up to you to try to justify those mistakes or seek retribution for them. Do you understand where I'm coming from with this?"

He slowly nodded, eyes trained on the floor and eyes looking dangerously glassy at all this talk of his mother.

"Oh, look," Ginny whispered brightly, looking up at the painting. "The Fat Lady's back. Let's go in and get some rest, Nev."

"No, that's okay," he answered, waving a hand towards the portrait, indicating that she should go on ahead. "Go ahead, Gin…I need to think a little longer."

"Are you sure?"

"I said _go_, Ginny. _Really._ I need to be alone," he retorted with a tone of finality, exhaustedly resting his head in his arms.

"What's going on here?" a voice called furiously. Turning from where she was just about to enter the portrait, Ginny was confused to see none other than Draco Malfoy quickly striding towards her and Neville, quite clearly livid.

-

_Don't treat me that way cause in your head  
You've got to trust me I won't be lead_

_-_

"Nothing," she replied. "What's up? What are you doing on this side of the castle, anyhow?"

"You forgot this in my room," Draco retorted, handing Ginny her wand. "Figured you might need it. Turns out it's a good thing I came, I catch you talking with this imbecile…"

"Draco, please. Stop it," the redhead retorted, brassed off by this point. Grabbing Draco by the hand, she said a quick goodbye to Neville and pulled Draco in to an abandoned classroom. "Okay, that's it."

"What's 'it'?" the blond asked, bewildered.

"Draco, you need to start trusting me. If you don't, this- you and I- will never work. I love you, not anybody else, but if you can't remember that…we can't be together," she spat out, shaking slightly at the possible repercussions of her words. _Please let him understand, _she begged silently, her eyes never leaving his stony grey. _I don't want us to be over…_

Draco was silent for a few moments, trying to keep his eyes trained on the floor to avoid the probing gaze of his girlfriend. Finally, he came to a conclusion. "You're right. I'm sorry. I suppose I've just never been comfortable with other people threatening what's mine."

"I'm not being threatened in any way, Draco," the redhead protested.

"I know," he answered immediately. "I mean more that I don't want anyone to take away from me. You mean too much…and I wouldn't be able to bear seeing you hurt again, like that stupid git Longbottom did."

"Forget about that," Ginny whispered, leaning in to kiss him sweetly. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? But you really _must_ get over this jealousy bit, it's getting extremely inconvenient to always have you yelling at my mates."

"Just your bloke mates," Draco retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why can't you hang out with more girls? Like that Olivia bird? Loony Lovegood for all that I care…even the Mudblood is better than your always being around blokes."

She cleared her throat in irritation.

"Okay, fine. 'Granger', then."

"Thank you," Ginny replied defiantly. "But, really, Draco…"

"I'll work on it," Draco answered with a nod. "I can't promise anything, but I'll make an effort to be less jealous."

-

_I hope your mind ain't working overtime  
I hope your memories are full of good times with me  
Don't trip if right now I can't answer the phone  
Cause you know that soon I'll be coming home_

_-_

Ginny Weasley was thrilled. Classes had just let out for the weekend, and the redhead was absolutely overjoyed at the thought of no History of Magic for two days. Two days of bliss and plenty of time with Draco. God, she loved weekends.

"What are you up to?" a voice called, drifting from the side of the corridor. Turning, she was faced with Pansy Parkinson, the one Slytherin (besides Draco, of course) that had actually earned her trust.

"Oh, hey!" the redhead replied with a smile. "Not much, really, just got out of the most boring Binns lecture I think I've ever experienced. You?"

"Just talked to Draco," Pansy replied slyly.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. _What the hell are they talking for? If I have to be jealous again, I'll blow a gasket…_ "Really now?"

"Yup," she simpered with a grin. "He wants to see you."

The redhead felt relief wash over her in a wave. _I'm silly; of course I can trust Draco. Merlin, I'm worse than he is, thinking Pansy's been hitting on him…or worse, that he'd actually respond to it if she did. And after I just gave him a lecture on this, honestly…Ginny, get it together._ "Okay, where is he at? Do you know?"

Pansy paused to think for a moment before replying. "He's down in the courtyard, I think."

After thanking Pansy, Ginny Weasley began the long walk down to the courtyard to have a chat with her boyfriend.

-

She smiled at Draco when she saw him sitting on a bench, one hand absentmindedly twirling his wand. He grinned in return, beckoning her over. "So how was History of Magic?" he asked, allowing his arm to rest on Ginny's shoulders.

"Dull," she replied with a chuckle. "So what's up? Pansy said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah, I do," Draco murmured, getting up and leading her on a walk. "I wanted to talk about the future. Well…_our_ future, I suppose. Us."

"I see," the redhead replied, scuffing her shoe against the cobblestones. When a few minutes went by with no reply, she prompted, "So…what now?"

Draco looked up to see that his girlfriend's nose had gone pink from the cold, but her cheeks had gone red from blushing. Smiling to himself and shaking his head, he weighed the question.

"Well," he murmured, obviously carefully mulling over his answer. "We're together, parents be damned, right?"

Ginny chuckled, allowed her gloved hand to close around Draco's bare one. "Right."

"Well, Red, what do you say?" Draco Malfoy asked with a wide grin, spreading his arms to close around her in a hug. Whispering in to her sweet-smelling hair, Draco managed, "Let's go write our own story."

"We still have school, Draco…I still have a whole year after this," Ginny protested, snuggling in to the warmth of her boyfriend while she did so.

"I know, but I can wait for you. I _will_ wait for you, that's what I wanted to tell you," Draco replied, smiling, pulling back and tilting her head so her lips could meet his in a tender kiss.

"But…the war…what will happen? I can't bear to lose you, you know that?"

"I…I feel the same way, Red," he croaked quietly, pulling her in to his chest again so she couldn't see that his eyes were getting dangerously wet. Ginny Weasley was the first person that had ever reached out to Draco. She didn't have to. She, by all rights, should have loathed him for how he treated her. But instead…she offered herself to him. _She loved him._

Ginny pulled away slightly. "You know, we can't run from it all forever. We will at least have to face my family sooner or later, you know? And, believe me, Ron will be _nothing_ in comparison to the rest of them…"

"Why, Red? Why do we have to face them?" Draco asked stubbornly, eyes intently focused on another direction.

She was quite clearly nervous again; he could tell by the way she stuttered slightly before speaking. "Uh…um...er…I'm not saying that you ever will…or that you want to…hell, I don't really even know if you _believe_ in it…"

Draco turned to her questioningly. "Well? Spit it out already, Gin."

"If you ever decided that you wanted to _marry_ me, you would have to get to know my family," Ginny replied in a rush, as if saying the words all at once would make them less uncomfortable to utter.

"Why do I have to know them, again?" the blond Head Boy asked in annoyance.

"Because I love them, Draco…and I love you. And if you love _me_, you won't force me to choose between you and my family," Ginny retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping back a few paces.

"All right, Red."

Ginny's eyebrow quirked. _Did he just say what I thought he said? No way. Draco Malfoy would never voluntarily commit himself to time spent with the Weasleys. _"Excuse me?"

Draco sighed in exasperation, turning to face her fully. "I said that I'd meet your family. I can't promise I'll be the most polite chap in the world, really, but I will honestly try, since I know it means so bloody much to you."

Squealing in excitement, the redhead launched herself at her boyfriend in a gigantic hug, showering kisses all over his face. "Thank you, Draco! I really appreciate you doing this, you know."

"I know," he murmured, pulling her back slightly and meeting her in the eye. "So…we've got a year and a half before you graduate then?"

Ginny nodded sulkily.

"Well, let's just capitalise on the half of a year I have to spend with you," Draco whispered in her ear, slowly trailing kisses down her earlobe. "And we'll worry about the year apart when it comes to that."

"What's going to happen when I get out of school that you're looking forward to so much, Draco?" Ginny asked curiously, meeting his eyes with a smirk spread across her freckled features.

Draco Malfoy grinned suggestively at his girlfriend. "Red- let me put it to you this way: after that year and a half is up…after I come and watch you graduate and you go home with me, and we get married and all that fun stuff…"

Ginny smiled wide at his actually voluntarily mentioning marriage, a smile that only got broader as her boyfriend continued his speech.

Draco paused, taking a moment to wink at her with one of his twinkling stone grey eyes. "After that year and a half, Gin…the next time I catch you looking up a pregnancy potion, it won't be for a friend, my lovely little firecracker. It'll be for _you._"

-

**Authoress' Note Take Two: **Please leave a tear final review... thanks again for all your support!


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